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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22888738">Way Down in the City of Death (Act I)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilliTheFangirl/pseuds/LilliTheFangirl'>LilliTheFangirl</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Way Down in the City of Death [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hadestown - Mitchell, Soul Eater</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Gen, Inspired by Hadestown, Resbang 2019, Resonance Bang 2019</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 09:15:18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>43,737</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22888738</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilliTheFangirl/pseuds/LilliTheFangirl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Desperate times call for desperate measures, as they say. Some take this as moving around at the sudden sense of change, or working relentlessly to keep a sense of order; as though that will allow the right to be given a legacy. Others only want to restore things to the way they were, or find a way to help those struggling the most recover, at least for a little. Whichever way the wind may blow, it takes a lot to create good harmony with love. See, someone’s got to tell the tale, whether or not it turns out well. But maybe it will turn out this time?</p><p>An old song given new voices and some slight modulations. Characters from Soul Eater combined with the musical Hadestown: The tales of Orpheus and Eurydice, along with Hades and Persephone, in folksy jazz and blues. This time, you could say there’s a little more madness and soul involved.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Death the Kid/Original Female Character(s), Flower Symmetry ;), Hades/Persephone (Hadestown), Maka Albarn &amp; Soul Eater Evans, Maka Albarn/Soul Eater Evans</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Way Down in the City of Death [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1651477</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Soul Eater Resonance Bang 2019</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. On the Road to Hell</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/sojustifiable/gifts">sojustifiable</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>HOLY MOLY, I'm finally posting this! This was my magnum opus for Resbang 2019... which I'm posting like 2 months late because life can get insanely busy. But what matters is that it's here now!!! As always, I would love to thank the lovely resbang mods, my wonderful artists the_noctivagant and sojustifiable, the staff, all of the friends I've made who've encouraged me to keep going with this, and of course, you for taking some time to read through this story!</p><p>Content Warnings: Some foul language, metaphorical deaths, deep thinking, but overall it's nothing too big? A very safe pg13 rating (maybe even pg)</p>
    </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Any time words are italicized in the center, that’s an indication that they’re from Hadestown songs. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re always singing, because they do speak sometimes during these songs.<br/>That being said, we're jumping right in with the first song of the show! Here ya go! https://www.youtube.com/watchv=ZgsfT2w7FfM&amp;list=PLcZhIiPR2E4UFVQ1tSFDpiPpd1V0v277M&amp;index=2&amp;t=0s</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Once upon a time there was a railroad line.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Don't ask where, brother, don't ask when;</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It was the road to Hell, it was hard times;</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It was a world of gods...and men!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>This railroad line consisted of dozens of train tracks winding through several different locations, all of them eventually leading to the same final track down into a large tunnel. As trains traveled in and out of it, dry wind constantly blowing, alternating between a chilling breeze or a blast of uncomfortably warm air. That was often why the train car’s windows were rarely opened up.</p><p>Regardless, on this particular time and day, one of the trains emerged onto a deserted plateau. Nobody was around to observe a clump of figures gathered outside in the caboose:</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>See, on the road to Hell there was a railroad line</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And there were three old women all dressed the same</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And they was always singin' in the back of your mind</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Everybody meet the Fates!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Now, these women were old, but one wouldn’t believe so at first glance. Very few wrinkles were present (if any at all) though you could easily tell that they were matured, and actually quite gorgeous in their own ways. All three Fates wore some variation of a long, gray dress covered in layered ruffles. The fabric patterns were all different, along with collar cuts, and each wore what could best be described as a belt with two straps crossed over the chest, like suspenders worn backwards. On their heads, the women each wore a matching gray turban tied up with long, black feathers in the back. Though just because they all dressed the same didn’t quite mean they looked alike-- quite the opposite case.</p><p>The tallest of the three had pale, ivory skin which brought out her wine-red lips and eyes the color of midnight, small spider webs in the irises. She wore her silky black hair in a bun under her turban, a few curled strands sticking out and framing her porcelain face. In her slim, ivory hands was a viola made of dark, almost black wood, and its matching bow.</p><p>The second tallest of the three had tanned skin and short, rusted golden hair under her own turbine, two long strands braided around each other in the front. Narrow eyes that same rusty golden color glared across the tracks, much like the eyes of a snake. Across her body was an accordion that she silenced with a grip that didn’t seem tight, but was actually quite restrictive.</p><p><a id="return1-1" name="return1-1"></a> 
Last was the shortest with a long braid of blended red and blue hair, the back shaped like that of a scorpion’s tail. This younger woman’s own eyes were red and blue, with yin and yang shapes as the pupils. She carried a slender, maroon mandolin in her arms.<sup>[<a href="#note1-1">1</a>]</sup>

</p><p>Winds blew past the caboose, but the trio of women weren’t bothered by the strong breeze. In fact, the wind was blowing around them, as though they were controlling it.</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>And on the road to Hell there was a railroad line</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And a lady steppin' off a train</em>
</p><p>
  <em>With a suitcase full of summertime</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Persephone, by name!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The infamous queen of flowers and fields wasn’t leaving her train car for too long. There were some technical issues that the train’s crew wanted to work on, so they had stopped far, far away from the other trains on the line. This gave the goddess a chance to stretch out from sitting for so long, and finally get a good look at the surface again.</p><p>As always when she came back up, the trees were bare, nothing but dead grass and leaves scattering in the dusty wind. It made her heart ache that the earth looked so dead, even more so that it was her fault its inner life couldn’t be unlocked without her on the surface. After all, she had simply stepped onto the crunchy, brown grass, and already it was regaining bright greens and a smoother texture as she walked further away from the train.</p><p>Persephone glanced around at the small valley she was fortunate to have stopped in, a hopeful smile on her lips as she gently laid a large, woven bag on the ground, looking at her hands. Tiny petals and bits of pollen had begun to gather on her fingertips, which were placed up to the woman’s mouth and blown into the air. For a light exhale, she had her signals of growth scatter insanely quickly: a demonstration of the combined power of the deity of fertility, along with all of the wind the world above always had nowadays.</p><p>“Our Lady?” The conductor of the train had caught up to her, hoping not to have interrupted something. “The train’s been fixed up, so we can get going. Unless you’d rather stay around here—“</p><p>“No, we can keep going. I just wanted to get my own job started, that’s all.” The goddess turned around, shaking her head with a sweet smile. “Though if it’s possible, I have a favor to ask.”</p><p>“Yes? What is it?”</p><p>“Would you mind opening the windows of the train? That way summer comes to wherever we’re traveling through?”</p><p>An odd request, but a completely understandable one. The conductor bowed, stepping back onto the train. “Of course, Our Lady.”</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>If you ride that train to the end of the line,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Where the sun don't shine and it's always shady;</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It's there you'll find the king of the mine,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Almighty Mr. Hades!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Deep inside the train tunnel, there was a figure draped in black looking at a pocketwatch. She convinced him to leave again… curse those puppy-dog eyes of hers. Oh well, there was more he had to work on and prepare for anyways.</p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <em>On the road to Hell there was a railroad station</em>
</p><p>
  <em>And a man with feathers on his feet</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Who could help you to your final destination</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Mr. Hermes, that’s me!</em>
</p><p> </p><p><a id="return1-2" name="return1-2"></a>Mr. Hermes himself was a man of dark skin and the muscular build of a panther: lean, but still powerful. On his face were rectangular eyeglasses with a medium-thick border, small metal wings on top of the hinges.<sup>[<a href="#note1-2">2</a>]</sup> The man wore a button-up shirt with wing-shaped buttons and the sleeves rolled up to his elbows; loose suspenders currently flopped to the sides of his dark gray pants. Over his shoulder was a silver suit jacket that had small, frayed feathers on the forearm of the sleeves.

</p><p><a id="return1-3" name="return1-3"></a>The god of trade and travel was often accompanied by two ladies that took care of further affairs between the worlds above and below the ground. Here at the station, it was no different. They were sisters, both blondes and quite pretty sights for sore eyes. Thankfully, it was easy to tell them apart. The eldest of the two was taller, with longer, duller blonde hair that went down to the rib cage and a tired, somewhat glazed look in her navy blue eyes. As she leaned against a wall, she crossed her arms with her button-up blouse tucked into high-waisted work pants. Her younger sibling was slightly shorter with a brighter blonde bob cut, and focused irises of baby blue. She sat on one of the station’s benches, swinging her legs and dressed in a jumpsuit over short sleeves. Both women wore black homburg hats with a bundle of white feathers on one side. One sister’s feathers were on the left and the other’s were on the right; that way, it looked symmetrical when they stood side by side.<sup>[<a href="#note1-3">3</a>]</sup></p><p> </p><p>
  <em>On the road to Hell there was a railroad line </em>
</p><p>
  <em>And a poor boy workin’ on a song</em>
</p><p> </p><p>In that same station, another train pulled in. The only people who disembarked were the three women in matching dresses and an unfamiliar young man. He hadn’t appeared from one of the passenger cars, but from one of the several cargo boxcars. In his hands was a lyre that he held close to his chest, bundled within a large, bulky wool coat that had some wear and tear. His eyes darted around, praying nobody had seen him. Thankfully, the three delivery service deities who lingered around the station were engrossed in conversation with the Fates, preoccupied with their anticipation for the arrival of a fifth traveler— but that someone hadn’t shown herself just yet.</p><p>“Dangit!” The younger sister stomped her foot. “Didn’t ya say she’s coming here soon?”</p><p>Her older sibling shook her head, a small sigh escaping. “Patty, I said I got a letter that she’s coming sometime today or this week at the latest. Not this second.”</p><p>Hermes couldn’t help but smile a little at the two’s close bond and obvious impatience. He himself had the same anticipation. With this old friend came a literal sense of rejuvenation to the world. The surface would get back into the swing of things, which was preferable to having to guide so many lost souls to destinations the god himself was growing skeptical of recommending. Really all three waiting in the station had been hoping to gain more information on what was going on down below because from the looks of it, it was affecting the world above much more than it should be.</p><p>“It has been a long time since you three have seen her, hasn’t it?” the eldest of the Fates asked, her head tilted enough that she was only looking down upon the other trio.</p><p>“Not super long, really,” the dark-skinned man chuckled. “Only a few months. But her coming and going is getting a lot more random. Liz and Patty here haven’t seen her in a whole year, with so many people wanting to head down.”</p><p>Liz nodded, adjusting the brim of her hat. “Yeah… business has been kind of insane.” She was obviously on edge and with the way things were lately, it didn’t take a genius to figure out why. The seasons’ frequencies were all out of line, and the larger-than-usual number of people feeling the need to go Underground deeply unsettled her. Something big was happening down there, and she and her sister couldn’t even start investigating with all the work they’ve had to do.</p><p>“Insane indeed.” The Fate with rusted gold hair clicked her tongue, hand on her chin. “Haven’t you seen the city itself? I would think so given how many people you deliver down there.”</p><p>The younger blonde blinked, shaking her head. “Mm-mm. So many people needing directions and messages to their families, we’ve been down there, but only to let people on and off!” Patty had been such a trooper through all of this, it really was admirable. Brightness was still in her eyes, along with that cheerful grin.</p><p>The youngest of the three women couldn’t help but let out a giggle. “My, my, what a shame! You really should go down there next time you have a chance! See what they’ve done with the place and all.” Before she could continue her laughter, her two older sisters pulled her aside, further into the station. Both of them glared menacingly at her; she wasn’t supposed to recommend that!</p><p>The trio outside looked over into the hall with confused faces, shuddering and shaking the conversation off. They knew very well that was meant to be taken so they’d be shocked at whatever they saw, but it wouldn’t work. They’d have to be completely blind to see how shady and controversial the City of Death had become in recent years.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>There was one more soul on this road </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Girl, come on in from the cold! </em>
</p><p>
  <em>On the railroad line on the road to Hell </em>
</p><p>
  <em>There was a young girl looking for something to eat!</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Coming up the stairs from the train station entrance was a young lady with platinum blonde hair somewhat neatly tied up in two pigtails. A bright red bandana was tied around her neck, the only color outside of her faded white shirt and apron, red shorts, and light gray, ripped up tights. In the girl’s arms was a bag full of whatever scraps of bread or other food she could scavenge, along with a relatively thick, old, and worn book. Her hand shuffled in the bag, trying to pull out a ration. After all, it was a miracle she was able to hunt down rations in the nearby town. The year’s crops had, once again, withered faster than they could be harvested, leading to only a small amount of food to tide everyone over until spring or summer visited once more.</p><p>Thus begins a familiar tale, though perhaps a bit different from the one you’re thinking.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> It’s a love song </em>
</p><p>
  <em>It’s a tale of a love from long ago</em>
</p><p>
  <em> It’s a sad song </em>
</p><p>
  <em>But we’re gonna sing it even so </em>
</p><p>
  <em>It’s an old song </em>
</p><p>
  <em>It’s an old tale from way back when </em>
</p><p>
  <em>And we’re gonna sing</em>
</p><p>
  <em>We’re gonna sing </em>
</p><p>
  <em>We’re gonna sing it again!</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><a id="note1-1" name="note1-1"></a>1<sup>1</sup><br/>Arachne, Medusa, and Shaula Gorgon respectively. <sup>[<a href="#return1-1">return to text</a>]</sup><br/><a id="note1-2" name="note1-2"></a>2<sup>2</sup> The pot meister and underrated boy himself, Kilik Rung! He’s one of my favorites, and I felt he fit the role of Hermes perfectly! If you’d like, feel free to imagine his voice narrating this tale, since Hermes is the narrator of the show, after all.<sup>[<a href="#return1-2">return to text</a>]</sup></p><p><a id="note1-3" name="note1-3"></a>3<sup>3</sup> Liz and Patty!! You can’t talk about a death god without mentioning his “hands”! As Hermes did in fact help to collect souls for the Underworld, I felt it would be right to bring the Thompsons in with the same job as Kilik (who usually takes care of the messages rather than underground affairs).<sup>[<a href="#return1-3">return to text</a>]</sup></p><p>Yes, I haven't revealed entirely who's who just yet, but you can probably figure it out, and if not by now, in due time ;)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Any Way the Wind Blows</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p><a id="return2-1" name="return2-1"></a> The young girl in pigtails ripped a chunk of bread with her teeth. It was dry, and flaky, but it was probably some of the better bread she had been able to find. At this point, she was thankful to simply have found a good amount of things to keep for rations. With a small wave to the three deities on the opposite end, the girl plopped down onto one of the station benches, setting her bag beside her and beginning to flip through her book. As she skimmed past irrelevant chapters of a trojan horse, golden touches, and minotaur mazes, a reminder of the state of the current climate popped into her head: <sup>[<a href="#note2-1">1</a>]</sup></p><p>
  <em>The weather ain’t the way it was before;</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ain’t no spring or fall at all anymore… It’s either blazing hot or freezing cold, Any way the wind blows</em>
</p><p>Nearby were those three older women, lingering by the station entrance with all 6 eyes on the bookworm. They stared at her with pity, cynical curiosity, and most of all, a sour glare, as though they the Fates were so much better. Though they remained silent, their voices somehow carried through telepathy of sorts, bringing an all too familiar subconscious thought into the ash-blonde’s mind. </p><p>
  <em>And there ain't a thing that you can do</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When the weather takes a turn on you,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>'Cept for hurry up and hit the road</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Any way the wind blows</em>
</p><p>	Green eyes rolled with an accompanied groan. So nice for those little voices in her head to invite themselves in unannounced! Especially as she was trying to concentrate! Real polite! Then again, the mind wasn’t always kind to itself. By now those little voices of doubt should have known that she wasn’t going to leave this town, right? As crappy as it was, this little place in the middle of some nowhere-desert was her home. There wasn’t anywhere else for her to go - at least, anywhere else that she knew. Sure, she could see how Mama and Papa were doing in their respective cities—if they even got out of town, but that only brought up bitter feelings she’d rather ignore.  </p><p>Adjacent from where the girl sat was another bench, the young man in his bulky wool coat perched on top of it. Funnily enough, he was also encountering those same little voices in his head. Though rather than choosing to ignore them, he allowed them to sing. Who knows why? He was bored and could probably get some inspiration out of them. As the trio began to sing about the breeze, the musician began to form a melody under his breath as well. </p><p>
  <em>“Wind comes up,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ooooh…”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Do you hear that sound?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Wind comes up,”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Move to another town!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ain't nobody gonna stick around</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When the dark clouds roll</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Any way the wind blows”</em>
</p><p>Light strumming and a low voice disrupted the pigtailed girl’s reading yet again. Closing the book with a finger keeping her place, she slid over to the far end of her bench, a small grumble building in her throat as she prepared to politely ask the boy to shut the hell up. </p><p>
  <em>You met The Fates</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Remember them?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Always singing in the back of your mind</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Wherever it was these young souls went</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The Fates were close behind</em>
</p><p>Close behind they were indeed, amused by how the boy decided to listen to them for potential lyrics. That made it all the easier to allow his inner doubts and insecurities to rise up on his forefront. The only real problem was how the other one in twin tails acted as though she wouldn’t allow fate to control her. A stubborn girl, that Maka Albarn. </p><p>“Excuse me—“ That said female in pigtails was about to bring up how she wanted to read in peace, when the strumming and singing picked up again.</p><p>
  <em>“People turn on you just like the wind</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Everybody is a fair weather friend</em>
</p><p>
  <em>In the end, you're better off alone</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Any way the wind blows”</em>
</p><p>It was a young man with tanned skin and hair the color of fresh snow, strumming strings on a lyre, humming and softly singing words nobody could really make out from afar. But the girl was actually quite close by him, and was able to understand a good amount of his murmured melody. Without even knowing it, she had leaned in as the singer joined the trio’s verse in his mind. </p><p>
  <em>“When your body aches to lay it down,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When you're hungry and there ain't enough to go round,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ain't no length to which someone won't go...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Any way the wind blows.”</em>
</p><p>	Oh, now that was a familiar emotion that resonated with the girl all too well. Her shoulders sank, and she found herself leaning forward ever so slightly for a closer look at the musician’s face. That white hair of his seemed rigid when she first saw it, but up close, it was actually quite fluffy and soft. Almost comparable to feathers rustling in the wind. His eyes were red, a dark red like that of fresh wine or dried blood.</p><p>
  <em>“Wind comes up,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ooooh…”</em>
</p><p>With time, his words became clearer, and his voice gained more volume and emotional weight. Those dark red eyes were focused on his callused hands and the string instrument within them.</p><p>
  <em>“And sometimes you think,”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Wind comes up,”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“You would do anything</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Just to fill your belly full of food,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Find a bed that you could fall into,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Where the weather wouldn't follow you</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Wherever you go,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Any way the wind blows.”</em>
</p><p>Eventually, he felt another presence nearby,  a lingering shadow giving the sneak away. The musician stopped his playing but kept humming softly as he turned around and looked up to see emerald colored eyes, two ash-blonde pigtails, and a crimson red bandanna.</p><p>The humming stopped mid-note. His lips parted slightly to reveal hints of sharp, jagged teeth. After a few moments of awkwardly staring at each other, the tan boy drawled out an “uuuuuh… how much of that did you hear?” </p><p>Pigtails sprung up like bunny ears or an antenna. “Ah! Sorry!” The girl jumped back and smiled sheepishly. “I couldn’t help but overhear you play, and… your song is really pretty.”</p><p>The boy’s eyebrows furrowed, glancing at the instrument and back to the new face. “It’s not really a song, more me playing out what I was thinking. If you think <em>that</em> was a song you must have horrible music taste.” He chuckled, those shark teeth of his glistening in a snarky grin. Poor boy didn’t know how to take a compliment. </p><p>Maka scoffed at the insult. “Short or not, it was still a song! At the very least a snippet of one,” she reasoned, a small pout curling on her lips.</p><p>“It’s still definitely far from one of my best pieces.” He kept up his smirk, unaware that doing so would only make the girl more curious. </p><p>“If that means your music is really popular, this town is much more out of the loop than I thought.”</p><p>The boy sputtered a huge laugh and shook his head. “No no, I’m not a famous bard or anything like that. I travel around to play wherever people might be. See if they like what I’m doing and if they’ll offer me food or whatever. It helps me get my mind off of everything that’s going on now.”</p><p>“I see. You’re basically a hobo who runs around mooching off others?” </p><p>The musician was caught off guard at the stranger’s comment, a stifled laugh giving away that he wasn’t sure how to take that. “Aha—I’m not a hobo!”</p><p>“That big, bulky coat of yours says otherwise.” A bit of a laugh was exhaled as the girl gave a playful smirk. The boy’s confused smile dropped to an offended scoff. She did not just say his fashion sense made him a hobo! 
	“It’s a warm coat that can carry just about anything! It’s kind of an essential for the times, isn’t it?”</p><p>One platinum eyebrow rose up with an accompanying frown. “Then explain how you got on the train without a ticket?”</p><p>The boy raised his finger up, inhaling and stammering to make a good excuse comeback, but only scowled. “Why should you care if I steal a ride here and there? It’s hard to get actual tickets!” </p><p>“Yeah, but it’s even harder not to get caught without one!”</p><p>“I just sneak into one of the boxcars with supplies or something like that!” </p><p>“Oh, and what about when they go to unpack the cars?” </p><p>“I always stop at a station before they can do that.” Shark teeth glimmered again with an exhale of a chuckle. All he got in response was an irritated eye roll, which caused him to give her a frown. “Why should you even care what I do? I don’t even know your name—“</p><p>“Maka.”</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>The girl glanced back to him. “My name’s Maka,” she repeated. “So now you know it, and I’m not a total stranger.” </p><p>The musician blinked before readjusting how he sat. “Maka, huh? Has a nice rhythm to it.” He nodded to himself, keeping quiet until green eyes narrowed at him once more. “Oh—right. My own name… it’s Soul.” </p><p>“Soul…” She repeated the name to herself, glancing at the lyre in his hands. “Is that your real name, or your alias?”</p><p>Tan skin seemed to flush a bit at the question. “It’s my real name—sounds super dumb, I know.”</p><p>“No no, I don’t think that!” Maka placed her hands up. “It’s unique, but in a good way! Could make a good celebrity name, if you ever wanted to go that route.”</p><p>Soul turned to look right at the girl. Did she just—did she just say she liked his name? “Uh, thanks? Don’t know if I’d want to be a celebrity though. It’d be cool, but also kinda stressful.” Having to constantly deal with <em>people, ugh. </em></p><p>What followed for a few moments was awkward silence, as neither of them knew what to talk about next, or if they wanted to continue the conversation at all. </p><p>“I really did like your music.” The girl glanced at her new seat mate with slight hesitation. “It was alluring, and a little strange.”</p><p>“You just said it was pretty.”</p><p>“It is!! But not how most people think of music as pretty. It had a—what’s the word—rumble to it?” Maka shrugged as the boy looked all the more confused the more she tried to explain it. “Like it’s got more substance to it than normal songs?”</p><p>The white haired musician broke his curled up mouth into a small smile. She was horrible at explaining music—yet it was charming how she was trying so hard. “Lots more songs have more substance than you think. Of course what’s often popular is usually kinda crappy, but the real deals? Those are fantastic.”</p><p>“How do you know if a song’s the real deal?”</p><p>“Uh—it’s not really something you know, y’know? More like-it’s more like something you feel. It connects to you somehow—connects more than the music or lyrics being appealing and catchy. Songs resonate with your emotions, or spark something in you…that sorta thing.”</p><p>“Spark something?” Green eyes glimmered for a moment, a plan brewing in the back of the girl’s mind. </p><p>“Yeah, spark something. Like inspiration for your own work, or intense emotions. Some songs have been known to change how people look at the world, or even change a small part of how it works. Heck, it’s often emotions or a drive to make a difference that make a song iconic.” Oh gosh, he was rambling now. Not the coolest thing he could do.</p><p>Or maybe it was. The pigtailed blonde crossed her ankles, looking at the ground before asking a question. “If songs are so powerful, do you think that… just maybe, they could help cause major changes in the world?”</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p><a id="return2-2" name="return2-2"></a> “Like… what if a song was made, and once it was sung... <sup>[<a href="#note2-2">2</a>]</sup></p><p>
  <em>Spring could come again?”</em>
</p><p>Blinking twice, dried red irises looked over. </p><p>
  <em>“Come again?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“Spring could come—“</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“When? I haven't seen a spring or fall since…</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I can't recall.”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“That’s what we could work on!</em>
</p><p>Maka hopped up from the bench facing Soul, hands clenched up in excited inspiration. She constantly looked between him and the pale, lifeless sky above the station. It seemed her green eyes became emeralds, glimmering despite the sun being nowhere to be found; that shine spread all around her and resonated with the musician somehow. </p><p>
  <em>“A song to fix what's wrong.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Take what's broken, make it whole!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>A song so beautiful,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It brings the world back into tune.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Back into time,</em>
</p><p><em>And all the flowers will bloom…</em>”</p><p>	She turned back to face Soul, pointing right at his face. “And I think I found just the person to help me!”</p><p>	The white haired lad blinked for a moment and waved his hands up frantically. “Woah woah woah!! Do you even know what you’re saying?! You’re just betting that music could change how the seasons work?”</p><p>	“I know that sounds really crazy, and kinda dumb, but it could work!”</p><p>	“How?” Red eyes only squinted harder at the ambitious female, who suddenly plopped down beside him once more, and opened the book she had in her hands this whole time.</p><p>Maka pointed towards a particular page. “See here? This talks about the myth of how seasons even came to be! Of course you could tell a story or poem about that, but a song would pull a lot more people in and get them to listen, right?”</p><p>Soul did his best to skim the page he was given, but ended up only scooching back so this girl’s eager expression wasn’t right up in his face. “So, more like a song to raise awareness?” </p><p>“I guess you could call it that.” Even if that sounded like it wouldn’t help anything, it was still something to build off from as a base, wasn’t it? “I’d write out the lyrics for the song, and you could do the music for it!”</p><p>“You mean the melody?”</p><p>“Yeah-whatever it’s called!”</p><p>“But why would you write out the lyrics? I thought mine were decent.”</p><p>“Well yeah… but then you’re doing everything, and you’d take credit for my idea!”</p><p>“No I wouldn’t!”</p><p>“Don’t lie! You would too!” Maka’s cheeks puffed up, and her little twin tails flopped down as she huffed. Like an angry little bunny. “You may not believe it, but I'm pretty good as a poet myself.”</p><p>Instead of even a small, impressed “ooooh,” the girl got a sputtered, hearty cackle. “PfffffHAA! You?! Writing poetry?!” Soul held his torso as he laughed, a wide grin full of sharp teeth. </p><p>Needless to say, that only infuriated the girl. With a swift hand, the book in her lap slammed into the musician’s head. He twitched for a few moments before sitting back up and rubbing the wound with his hands. </p><p>“What the hell did you do that for?!”</p><p>“You don’t have any right to make fun of me! Songs are just poetry with music behind them, right?”</p><p>He stared blankly, not sure if feeling amused or offended was the best reaction. “There’s a little more to it than that.”</p><p>“Suuure, you tell yourself that.” She crossed her arms, face scrunched up in annoyance. Here she was, beginning to think that this guy seemed nice!</p><p>Soul’s own expression transitioned from anger to more guilt. “Alright, alright. Laughing at your poetry that I haven’t even read was a jerk move. I admit it.”  The tan lad put his hand on the bridge of his nose. “But all of that still doesn’t explain why you would want me of all people to help you. Aren’t there other musicians?” Those three gypsy-looking women all had instruments too, last time he glanced at them! Though they were intimidating to look straight in the eyes, with how they loomed over everything and everyone they saw... </p><p>“Honestly not really. Not really any who would want to actually help me…” Fingers twiddled together as Maka softened her eye contact. “If you did help me, we might gain a lot of attention and recognition, which would probably get you more money to provide for yourself,” she timidly explained.</p><p>That brought up a good point. It was a gamble, how their song could even work out. On one hand, there was the potential they would reap in whatever they could sow together, and finally not have to constantly fear starvation or freezing  to death. On the other… would anyone even pay attention to his music? Who was this girl, a random girl he just met, to think that his dumb twiddling with a lyre was enough to heal the earth?</p><p>“So you’re just choosing me because I’m the only person around?”</p><p>Maka’s eyes— no, almost like her entire essence, glimmered once again, this time with reassurance. “That isn’t <em>just</em> why I want to work with you! When I heard you sing… it resonated with me. It could honestly connect to just about anyone, with the conditions we’re all living in. But it also did more than that; I felt… alive as I listened to your song.”</p><p>With an unexpected flutter of his heartbeat, Soul raised his eyebrows. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Alive? That's worth a lot…”</em>
</p><p>A beaming smile grew on his face, newfound passion and determination in his eyes. This stranger’s words were enough to convince him that maybe, just maybe, he could pull off such a feat as a life-changing song. He turned to Maka, certifying his interest in the project. </p><p>
  <em>“What else ya got?”</em>
</p><p>He was going to do it?! She didn’t even think that it would go through herself. As Soul was asking if there was more to her idea, she sheepishly scratched her head. </p><p>“Well—Now that you’re interested in it, I’m not sure entirely what we’d have it be about.”</p><p>The white haired boy exhaled a small chuckle. “You said it’d be about how the seasons even got started, right?”</p><p>Maka furrowed her brows, though her lips struggled to hide her own grin. “Yeah, but I don’t know how that would sound.”</p><p>“How would what sound?”</p><p>“The seasons.”</p><p>“You mean in music? That’s really up to one’s interpretation.” Soul gave a shrug. “Different things have different emotions to each person, and that means they also have different sounds.” </p><p>Maka’s lips pursed together, overanalyzing what he explained. Attempted to explain, at least. It was awfully vague. Different sounds to each person meant they would need to combine a wide variety of them—which <em>could</em> be done with just two voices and a lyre, but those could only do so much. </p><p>That was a bridge far, far off in the distance, and they were only just starting a hike. Two pigtails flopped back and forth as the blonde shook her head, startling the boy beside her. </p><p>“Then… what do you think the seasons sound like?”</p><p>“You mean a specific season?”</p><p>“It could be that, or just the passing of seasons; how things grow and then wither, all of that sort of change.” </p><p><a id="return2-3" name="return2-3"></a> The musician bit his lip (not as painful as one might think with those jagged chompers), looking down at his instrument with complete focus. A few notes were softly played, matching quiet humming, before growing into a more stable, consistent pattern.<sup>[<a href="#note2-3">3</a>]</sup></p><p>1-2-1-2-1-2-1-2. </p><p>With a deep inhale, Soul began to sing in a high, somewhat breathy falsetto.</p><p>
  <em>“La la la la la la la...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>La la la la la la la…”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“La la la la la la la...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>La la la la la la la...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>La la la la la la la…”</em>
</p><p>Out of seemingly nowhere, various voices echoed the very same melody; various harmonies all in different rounds, crescendoing with each verse of seven “la”s. Maka heard the voices first, and they sent chills up her spine; her jaw dropped all the more when she noticed something happening below the bench. Goosebumps decorated her skin, visible as she subtly tapped the musician’s shoulder, who sang one last round of his melody before finally listening to the outside harmonies that had appeared. His own eyes grew wide as he saw what Maka pointed at: a small, red flower blooming within the gravel underneath one of the bench legs. Once it finished blooming, Soul bent down to pluck it from its supposed base of small stones, him and the pigtailed girl staring at each other, and the plant, in awe. </p><p>
  <em>“How'd you do that?”</em>
</p><p>
  <em>“I don't know.”</em>
</p><p>“Has that kind of thing happened before?” Maka reached out a finger to feel the petals. They were soft and thin, just like normal flower petals; instead of possibly tearing apart with one accidental tug, these red petals didn’t budge one bit, maintaining its gorgeous, flawless shape. </p><p>The boy just stared at the flower in his hands, utterly dumbfounded. “Nothing like this ever happened. If it did, I would’ve probably noticed if things grew out of nowhere with random melodies.”</p><p>
  <em>“Even so, it can do this?”</em>
</p><p>An excited grin appeared, the girl’s fair but grubby hands taking one of the musician’s in between them in a rush of adrenaline. “We have to write it!”</p><p>Soul blinked in surprise, slight color in his cheeks. “You mean you’re serious about making a song now?”</p><p>Maka gestured to the flower in his hands. “If a bunch of ‘la-la’s can cause a flower to bloom from almost nothing… just think about what it could do if it were a full song!” </p><p>A flower bloomed from nothing. How? Absolutely no clue. Would it even work a second time? Nobody knew. It was absolutely crazy to go along with a plan that only had a miracle for evidence, but miracles do often cause people to believe. The tan musician brought his other hand on top of Maka’s, the red flower pointing right towards her. “Alright. I’ll help you as much as I can, and pray that we can pull this stunt off.” He flashed a sharp-toothed smile. </p><p>And so a partnership between the two was nestled into place. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><a id="note2-1" name="note2-1"></a>1<sup>1</sup><br/>Ooo~ Any Way the Wind Blows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N3FmSVcjwA&amp;list=PLcZhIiPR2E4UFVQ1tSFDpiPpd1V0v277M&amp;index=2<br/><sup>[<a href="#return2-1">return to text</a>]</sup><br/><a id="note2-2" name="note2-2"></a>2<sup>2</sup><br/>The whole song “Come Home with Me” is absolutely a SoMa song (and it’s gorgeous), but I wanted to develop a stronger reason the two work together. Thus, the main parts for this plot revolve around 0:55; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpNEPwACYK4&amp;list=PLcZhIiPR2E4UFVQ1tSFDpiPpd1V0v277M&amp;index=3 <sup>[<a href="#return2-2">return to text</a>]</sup><br/><a id="note2-3" name="note2-3"></a>3<sup>3</sup><br/>“Wedding Song” had this little interlude where we really see the power of Orpheus and his music at 1:52—the original song is also wonderful, I just went about a different story here. <sup>[<a href="#return2-3">return to text</a>]</sup><br/></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Epic I</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just an fyi, this is a whole lot of oc/canon shipping material, so.... don't mind me.<br/>The song starts with the chapter this time!!<br/>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN1Ws7qTGuM&amp;list=PLcZhIiPR2E4UFVQ1tSFDpiPpd1V0v277M&amp;index=5</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>“Where'd you get that melody?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Turning around, the newly-pledged partners saw a tall, sandy-blonde woman looking right at them with misty eyes. Behind her was her shorter sister with a thrilled expression, and the dark-skinned man with a jacket over his shoulder wearing a warm half-smile.</p>
<p>Soul flushed in embarrassment. They probably overheard him singing and talking with this girl for who knows how long! “Uh, which one?” he stammered. Oh shoot, that would basically confirm they eavesdropped the whole time!</p>
<p>The slightly shorter girl in a jumpsuit took a step closer, pointing to the small flower in his hands. “The one you were just singing! With all of the ‘la-la-la’s, the one that helped that little guy grow!”</p>
<p>Green eyes grew wide, a bit startled at who was talking to them. Well, she knew Liz, Patty, and Hermes well in this town, but Soul didn’t seem to have a clue who they were!</p>
<p>Nonetheless, the musicians looked at the flower he held, inhaling briefly before letting it out, struggling to come up with a sound explanation. He sighed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“I don’t know,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It came to me</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>As if I'd known it all along”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“You have,”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hermes himself spoke up, stepping towards the pair and sitting down alongside them.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“It's an old song.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>A song of love from long ago…</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Long-time since I heard it, though”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Maka spoke up next.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“You’ve heard that melody before?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The cheerful, short haired blonde nodded. “Mhm!”</p>
<p>“Where’s it from?” the girl with the red bandanna asked. “Tell us more.”</p>
<p>“Surely you know the tales of the gods?” The man in glasses took the book from Maka’s hands, flipping through the pages. Both she and Soul grew confused, the latter pointing it out.</p>
<p>“Of course we do—which ones?”</p>
<p>To that, Liz spoke up again to answer:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Hades and Persephone.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Remember how it used to be?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Their love that made the world go round?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>It took a few silent moments for the young duo to think of that particular myth, to see if it was told to them before in their childhood. Eventually, Maka nodded.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Yeah, I remember now,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But that was long ago.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Tell it again, though.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hermes placed the book back in the ash-blonde’s hands, open to the very tale of the two deities. In between the pages was a piece of notebook paper, with small notes, stanzas perhaps, from the tale. She looked to her new partner, who gave a slight smirk as he handed her the flower. He couldn’t really play his instrument with it in his hands, after all. Maka took it, looking down at the book before nodding a signal. Soul nodded back, playing a chord with each verse of the beginning of her little “poem”:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“King of shadows,</em>
</p>
<p><a id="return3-1" name="return3-1"></a>King of shades,<sup>[<a href="#note3-1">1</a>]</sup></p>
<p>
  <em>Hades was king of the Underworld…”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The chords were plucked one by one to form the melody as the epic continued.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“But he fell in love with a beautiful lady,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Who walked up above in her mother's green field…”</em>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>There was a time where Hades was more of a prince than a king. He spent most of his childhood preparing to take over his father’s throne; part of that preparation involved learning about mortals and the surface world they lived in. So, there he was, a young man dressed in a black suit, even as a teenager in the middle of summer's heat, wandering through a field of various trees, flowers, and other plants.</p>
<p>The vegetation’s arrangement was breathtaking—though the deity only scoffed. Not because he hated nature, although the spare leaves sticking to the bottom of his shoes made him hope a clearer path would show itself. Roses, lavender, irises, all sorts of different flowers grew; some breeds clustered together, but most were scattered across the earth. It was bright, colorful, and still caused the lad to twitch as he strolled through the garden. Everything was wild, disorganized — no sense of symmetry or categories for the flowers and plants at all!</p>
<p>Already a stickler for whatever sense of order he could get, he trudged through the wildflowers by a massive tree. Of course the tree itself could be considered absolutely splendiferous, but it didn’t catch his eyes. What Hades instead noticed and focused on was a bundle of shrubs and flowers all draped along the magnificent tree branches. Even amongst all of the vines and even other smaller garlands that dangled within the branches, one of them just flopped there, obviously out of place. If someone was decorating the tree, they must’ve given up and did a disservice by leaving the last decoration in such an unfinished, jarring position! It was only natural that he’d have to readjust it! He marched towards the tree, warily stepping around so he’d get by without killing anything.</p>
<p>As gently as he could, the boy nudged the garland of flowers and shrubbery up until half of it was off of the branch. It was much longer than he thought it would be, but he made sure it was all gathered in his arms without anything falling off. He glanced around, muttering aloud for the best place to put it. “It was all gathered up on this one particular branch, but…” His eyes looked toward the branch on his right, which was reflected perfectly on his left. Golden eyes glimmered with assurance; this was definitely the perfect place to hang his cargo! Immediately, he spotted a small crevice in the trunk and stepped into it, one hand clinging to the rest of the tree while the other held the garland.</p>
<p>What the young deity hadn’t noticed at all was that the branches above him were covered in vines dangling down much lower than he assumed. As soon as he had the garland starting to flop up on the branch, his hand had slipped right into one of the vine’s small loopholes, tightening around his wrist as soon as he moved it back closer to himself. Young Hades grew wide-eyed at his now tied up hand—that wasn’t what he wanted to do. He tried to tuck the garland under his arm as his other hand attempted to wriggle the vine loose, but alas, it wouldn’t budge.</p>
<p>“Of course.” With a small grumble, he took a step back to the branch to place the plants back, but the vine was much shorter than he anticipated. “Well, I don’t want to mess these u—P!”</p>
<p>A sharp tug jerked him back, further from where he wanted to place the garland back down. The long wreath of flowers and shrubs flopped further off the tree, wrapping around his foot as he tried to set it back down.</p>
<p>With an irritated grumble, he waved around the arms and legs that were stuck, looking like a ruffled up penguin as the plants’ grips only grew tighter. Yep. He’s really stuck. Fantastic. How’s he supposed to get himself out of this now?</p>
<p>“Is someone there?”</p>
<p>Was that… a voice? Well yeah of course it was a voice! A sweet sounding one at that, but all the way out here? There were two ways to process this.</p>
<p>One: Thank goodness somebody else was here and could help remove this crazy vegetation.</p>
<p>Two: Oh no. Somebody was walking by and would see the future ruler of the underworld caught in plants. Real professional. The death god tried to gulp down his anticipation of whoever was about to see his humiliating pose.</p>
<p><a id="return3-2" name="return3-2"></a> Slowly, a peek of a flowing, light pink robe appeared behind a nearby tree. Then came a hand with the long sleeves of the robe, and finally a girl stepped into the open, away from the tree trunk. <sup>[<a href="#note3-2">2</a>]</sup>
He averted eye contact as much as possible—maybe if he wasn’t seen he could be left alone to rot like this!</p>
<p>Instead, she giggled. “Oh dear. You must’ve gotten yourself stuck, huh? The plants tend to get a little feisty when people disturb them.” The stranger walked up closer, getting on her knees, and started to gently unravel the garland around his ankle. Her face couldn’t be seen, but her hair was a copper brown, maybe even more of a chestnut color, wavy curls bouncing around her shoulders, with a colorful floral wreath on top of her head. Soon enough, the brunette stood back up, garland cradled in her arms before she set it back up on another branch.</p>
<p>“There we go! You can set your leg back down again!” She turned back to the boy, eyes mainly focused on the wrist tangled in a vine. Now, he could actually see her face—and it was a pretty one. She had a soft, round face matching the rest of her features. Little things like copper brown eyebrows crinkling in concentration, or the smallest peek of tongue sticking out between slightly chapped, pink lips had somehow become things that the god of death found himself analyzing. Bright, cerulean blue eyes were concentrated on the vine, oblivious to the eyes of gold that staring back in a newfound daze.</p>
<p>Once the vine was untangled, the girl made eye contact with the “victim” of the plants, still posed like an asymmetrical puppet with no strings attached. He was slightly taller than she was, dressed in a black suit and coat, his skin deathly pale—almost a light gray. What stuck out the most were the stark white stripes on the left side of his black hair and his eyes, glowing even in the daylight. Those eyes stared the girl down, yet she found them enchantingly intimidating.</p>
<p>“Um… you can put your hand down.” The brunette slowly tapped the boy’s sleeve. He gave a slight jolt and looked at his hand sinking from such an awkward position.</p>
<p>“Oh… oh—right.”</p>
<p>He swiftly swiped his hand down to readjust his jacket, then cleared his throat. “Thank you for helping me out of… whatever just happened.” Young Hades glanced towards the very vegetation that tripped him up, feeling like a fool. His voice was low in pitch, but not as low as she thought it would be. More baritone than bass.</p>
<p>“It’s not a problem, really!” The girl placed her hands up with a reassuring smile. “Though I must ask, what were you doing with that garland?”</p>
<p>Oh no. She went right in for the kill. The boy in black and white looked at the bundle of plants for a second, placing a hand on his collar to make sure he wasn’t sweating. “Well—you see, I was just-uh- I was really just walking around and I noticed it, the wreath-garland-thing, lying on that tree...” He stumbled over his—he stumbled over his words?! That’s a rarity! Though it made sense for why he felt more jumpy than usual, since there was the possibility of him shortly being accused of thievery.</p>
<p>Cyan eyes blinked in processing the start of his response, a slight tint of confused worry flashing through. “Were you going to take it?”</p>
<p>An audible wince. For how sweet she sounded, her questions went right for his throat. “No, I don’t really have a use for such a thing.” Hades shook his head, attempting to regain his more stoic composure.</p>
<p>“Then why does it look like you were carrying it?”</p>
<p>The bundle of flowers and shrubbery was picked up once more by the girl as she pointed towards the several small imprints and holes in the leaves coating the ground around the tree. Though still in good condition, the garland did look like someone messed with it. That particular someone clasped his hands together, desperately thinking of a way to explain just what the heck he was doing.</p>
<p>Better to simply say it and be done, right? Hades placed his hands out, as though he held some tense, invisible object. “You see, I noticed that the wreath was all on one branch, therefore on one side of the tree. It was asymmetrical—and that bothered me… a lot.”</p>
<p>The brunette blinked, nonplussed. “Why’d you think it was asymmetrical?”</p>
<p>“<em>Think</em> it was asymmetrical?! It absolutely was! Look!” With that, the boy marched up, pulling the girl further back and setting her in place, hands on her shoulders. “See? It’s only on the left, and not on the right!”</p>
<p><a id="return3-3" name="return3-3"></a> Oh gosh. Oh golly goodness. A boy. Mere inches away from her face. Not many boys came around her neck of the woods, let alone stood right beside her. It didn’t help that he had such pretty eyes and was dressed so nicely, either!! Fair skinned cheeks flushed a bright pink, matching the peonies<sup>[<a href="#note3-3">3</a>]</sup> popping up in the girl’s hair. “Weh??! I—I can see that! Why does that—why does it bother you that much? I mean—I kinda just left it laying there because my mother wanted me to help her with something.”</p>
<p>“Oh.” It wasn’t on purpose. All the more reason he looked like an absolute buffoon. Not to say that he wasn’t, though. The black and white boy tightly pursed his lips together, stepping back and stifling a sheepish laugh. “Aha—so you didn’t just throw it there and call it a decoration. Good to know.”</p>
<p>As he feared, light laughter came from the brunette as she turned back to him, hands covering her mouth. His lips pressed together once more, failing to suppress his embarrassed whimper. The girl shook her head, hoping to reassure him.</p>
<p>“Ah! I’m not laughing at you! It’s just that what you said was funny!”</p>
<p>Technically, that was still laughing at him. Rich black eyebrows furrowed in doubt. “Then what was it that made me such a comedian?”</p>
<p>“That garland isn’t really a decoration—well, not a decoration I plan to use for anything.” she explained, still laughing as she scooped the garland back in her arms and sat down. “It’s more like a small project I do to pass the time.”</p>
<p>Hades leaned in closer, hand pressed on his chin as he looked at the wreath. “A project?” “Mhm! I just take flowers, leaves, and stuff that’s fallen to the ground, and place it all together in little things like this. It helps me have something to do while my mother works with people.”</p>
<p>“You made this?” Deathly pale hands picked up a portion of the garland, petting the intricately woven length of soft leaves and flowers. “You must be an excellent artisan! It’s not falling apart at all, and I don’t feel any kind of string or wire.”</p>
<p>Peonies bloomed on top of chestnut brown hair once more, the girl hiding her mouth with a few strands of it. “Ah, I’m really not— and it actually kinda is falling apart a little.” She pointed to a stray honeysuckle blossom and some small leaves that had fallen off in all of the commotion. The deity of the underworld watched her hands scoop up the plants, some sort of transparent light glowing underneath the greenery in her palms. Within seconds, she placed the flower and leaves back onto the garland, nestling them right in as though they were pieces of a massive puzzle.</p>
<p>Golden eyes blinked twice to confirm what just happened, before squinting. “I’m not sure how nature works, but it definitely doesn’t do that on its own.”</p>
<p>That bubbly giggle appeared once more. “It normally doesn’t, you’re right about that. I just used some of my own— Oh!!” The girl’s hands sprang up by her collarbone in realization. “That’s so rude of me! We’ve been talking for so long yet I haven’t introduced myself!” One of her palms was stretched out to the boy. “I’m Persephone.”</p>
<p>Hades glanced to the hand and back to the young lady’s smiling face, wheels in his head turning to make a connection. “You mean… Demeter’s daughter?”</p>
<p>“Yep! That’s me.” Persephone curtsied—well, curtsied as well as she could while sitting on her knees.</p>
<p>“That explains your garlands.” The black and white boy cracked a tiny smile he shook the girl’s hand once, and set it down to her knees. His smile quickly changed to a confused, neutral line as he realized something. “Doesn’t Persephone mean ‘bringer of destruction?’”</p>
<p>Round, bright blue eyes grew wide, but kept looking at him. “It does?”</p>
<p>“You don’t know what your own name means?!”</p>
<p>“Well, you see, funny story!” She twiddled her fingers with a sheepish laughter. “That’s not my real name.”</p>
<p>Hades’s puzzled expression changed to a more serious, almost intrigued gaze. Interrogation time. “Then it’s what mortals call you now, right? How did you get such an alias?”</p>
<p>Persephone’s face scrunched up in desperation. One wrong step and tears would fall out of her eyes at any second. “I-I haven’t killed anyone, I swear!! I just thought that… the name sounded pretty, so I put it down as my alias.” She explained in a squeaky, exasperated tone.</p>
<p>For a few moments, awkward silence nestled in between the two deities, one trying really hard not to cry, the other not sure how to process such a reason, let alone try to comfort her. That silence broke thanks to an unexpected, tiny snort of laughter. Hades covered his mouth, shaking his head when he noticed the goddess quiver.</p>
<p>“Ah—Don’t give me that face!” Hades swiftly placed a finger right in front of her. “You laughed at me mere moments ago, and the fact you didn’t even know the origin of that name is—” He shut his mouth, relaxing his hand. So what if they were even? That didn’t really help banish the tears still glittering in her eyes. “Is… a perfectly understandable thing. Not many understand Greek. Here, to make it up to you, I can let you know something regarding my own name… I’m frequently called ‘Death the Kid’ or ‘Kid’ for short.”</p>
<p>Persephone’s anguished expression eased up, a few small, light chuckles escaping her. Instantly, Kid felt his shoulders drop with relief.</p>
<p>“It’s embarrassing, I know.”</p>
<p>“I don’t think so!” The brunette brushed stray hair out of her face as she giggled. “It’s actually really cute that you’re known as Kid.”</p>
<p>The black and white lad blinked, his lips scrunching up. He’s not supposed to be cute! He was to take over the Underworld, maintain ultimate order! Overlookers of order weren’t cute.</p>
<p>“Though, why exactly are you <em>Death </em>the Kid?” Persephone inquired.</p>
<p>“Oh! Right, that’s because of my actual name,” He sat up, hand presenting (and readjusting) the small skull broach on his neck. “Hades, the god of the—”</p>
<p>Before he could give any more of his various titles, the goddess interrupted him. “Hades?! You mean like, <em>Underworld</em> Hades?”</p>
<p>The said young man blinked and abruptly nodded. “Yes?”</p>
<p>Persephone’s mouth made a perfect circle with an accompanying “Oooh! Wow! You’re so different from how I thought you’d be!”</p>
<p>The following reaction was a squint. “I am?”</p>
<p>“Not in a bad way, though!!” She placed her hands up in defense. “Lots of people around here always talk about how cold and stoic you are, but you’re actually not like that at all. You’re very expressive and kind. Fun to talk to as well!”</p>
<p>Pale, almost gray skin flushed with a hint of red, the deity’s hands awkwardly intertwining together. “I’m really not—er… ‘kind’ as you put it,” he bluntly stated, avoiding eye contact as much as he could; it was a little difficult with those big ol’ eyes giving off such a strong presence.</p>
<p>The brunette rested her head on her knees, a warm gaze partially hidden by her pink robe and copper hair. “Well, since I don’t know you that well, maybe I’m not the best judge of your character… but I can say that I’m enjoying talking with you. Not many people come around these parts of the fields, so meeting you by surprise was a nice change of pace.”</p>
<p>Kid slowly glanced over at the girl, his hands drooping to rest in his lap. She looked so peaceful yet full of life. Even with stray hair falling onto her face, he couldn’t help but find her bea— aesthetically pleasing. Though getting that hair out of the way would help her to see better. With a small inhale, his hand began to reach for her face—</p>
<p>“Yuri? Can you come back for a minute? I need you to help me with one more thing!” A new voice of a woman interrupted the two; the brunette sitting up onto her knees, while the black and white boy jerked his hand back, digging it into his jacket for a pocket watch. Ah shoot. Father wanted him home by sunset, and he didn’t even need a watch to see that the sun was beginning to sink into the horizon.</p>
<p>“In a minute, Mama! I need to finish something!” Persephone called back through the fields, standing up and offering her hands back down to the Underworld deity. Hades glanced over, not even noticing that he already grabbed her hands, pushed himself back on his feet, and was now just holding them. Her hands were small and soft, especially compared to his lanky, bony, calloused ones. It took a solid second for him to realize what he was doing, and then he instantly dropped his arms to his back pockets.</p>
<p>“Uh—so, that’s your mother?” he asked with obvious tension in his voice.</p>
<p>Though it seemed the girl hadn’t minded it; at least, her eyes hadn’t grown concerned—though they did get wider and quickly turned away from him, looking back to the fields her mom was waiting in. “Yeah. I gotta help her with something, but I’ll be right back so—“</p>
<p>Kid shook his head, “I need to be taking my leave back home as well,” he reassured, turning on his heel.</p>
<p>“Wait—”</p>
<p>Before he could say anything, he felt a tug from his sleeve, preventing him from taking another step. He looked over his shoulder to see those small, soft hands holding his wrist, the goddess showing that sweet smile once more. “If you ever come back up here, feel free to come by and visit! I can show you a bunch more in the gardens!”</p>
<p>His lips curled up ever so slightly. “Alright. I’ll keep it in mind. I hope you have a nice evening.”</p>
<p>“You too!!” Yuri let go of his arm, spinning around and racing towards wherever her mother was waiting for her. She glanced back to him, waving a hand goodbye.</p>
<p>Hades copied the gesture, though his arm was less outstretched. With a brief exhale, he began walking back to the tunnel to the Underground. He tripped over himself, but managed to not entirely look stupid right after. Thankfully nobody saw him too.</p>
<p>Well, he didn’t exactly follow through with his father's request to start observing mortals above, but his trip to the surface wasn’t completely fruitless! After all, he met someone new: Persephone—or Yuri, if that’s her real name. Even after showing up out of nowhere and messing with her stuff, she hadn’t freaked out or gotten cross with him. That was probably one of the kindest souls he ever came across. A kind soul with a lovely laugh.</p>
<p>Wait, wait. He felt his chest throbbing the more he reflected on the day. Walking wouldn’t cause his heart to palpitate so much, would it? No, of course not! He isn’t so out of shape that a stroll would wear him out! So then why does he feel all aflutter remembering her excited, friendly smile? Kid you dumb, dumb boy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>He fell in love with Persephone</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Who was gathering flowers in the light of the sun</em>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>“Kid, you’ve been in there for the entire day! What are you even doing?” Several weeks had gone by since the young death god had returned from his trip above, and ever since then he was acting funny. He wasn’t as particular or persnickety with the manor’s picture frames being perfectly straight, or a stray suspender not directly on the shoulder. He spaced out more often-- (ok, more like he looked in another direction with no “asymmetrical” thing in sight for around 2-3 times a week), a <strong>feat</strong> for such a particular personality that was always keen on every detail. Now, Liz was standing outside his room, knocking on the massive doors because she and her sister hadn’t seen him since the morning.</p>
<p>A muffled shout responded. “I’m just working on… something!”</p>
<p>“Mind sharing what that something is?” The blonde placed a curled up hand on her forehead.</p>
<p>“I’m just… cleaning my room!” Kid dryly laughed, one key indication that he was lying. Now, it was a believable lie, but that left the question of <em>why</em> he would lie. What was he hiding?</p>
<p>Patty had been pounding out random rhythms on the doors, before buzzing her lips. Slowly, she giggled with a tinge of menace. “Secrets, secrets are no fun…” she sang as she stepped back, pulling on the massive door-handle rings. “Unless you share with everyone!!” Without warning, the doors swung open, the short haired blonde jumping into Hades’ bedroom with her surprised sister trailing behind.</p>
<p>Needless to say, the boy was sitting at his desk with a typewriter— and he scooched back practically to the wall when the two barged in, paler than he already was. “Y-You didn’t have to barge into my room!!”</p>
<p>“Yeah we did!” Baby blue eyes glimmered with intrigued mischief. “You wouldn’t open your door!” Patty stepped in front of the typewriter, but Kid just dove right in front of her, barely catching himself on the desk.</p>
<p>“I mean that you don’t have to know what I’m working on!” He reiterated, exasperated. That didn’t help his case, as Liz stood over him with the small pile of papers from his desk in her hands.</p>
<p>Her navy blue eyes scanned through each draft, squinting at each unfinished sentence, sometimes word! “So… you’re trying to write a letter? Is that why you’ve been cooped up all day?”</p>
<p>Kid held his breath before letting out a defeated exhale. “I was. My handwriting was so atrocious every time that I had to type it out instead.”</p>
<p>“Some of these unfinished ones were typed too, though.” Honestly, it would take a very detail-oriented eye to differentiate the typography from his handwriting (Liz could only tell because some of the letters in certain drafts weren’t filled in completely, or had obvious pencil and ink strokes).</p>
<p>Hades rolled his eyes. “Because I didn’t get the wording of what I wanted to say right! My tone needed to sound professional, but sincere.”</p>
<p>Patty snatched a handful of papers, mimicking her “boss” by clearing her throat, before another percussive knock on the door arrived.</p>
<p>“Hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Leaning on the door was the bespectacled, curly haired Hermes dressed in much more relaxed short sleeves.</p>
<p>The black and white boy stood up, brushing off his suit. “Ah. Kilik, it’s nice to see you.” He walked up to the “delivery boy”, secretly praying he didn’t see the entirety of the scene before. “Actually, you showing up saved my hide from those two sneeking through drafts of something I’d like you to deliver.” Golden eyes glared over the shoulder at the two blondes who were too engrossed in reading those very drafts to notice.</p>
<p>Kilik readjusted his glasses with a small push. “Sure thing! A letter, I’m guessing? You got it with you?”</p>
<p>Hades made a small “mmmm” sound. “Not quite yet. I’m almost finished though,” he explained as he pushed his chair back to his desk, though he leaned over the typewriter to finish up a “with best regards” conclusion. After a minute or two, he gently pulled the paper out of the machine, gave it a short puff of air to dry off the ink, and meticulously folded it in half before placing it into an envelope. Though he didn’t lick it, he grabbed his family’s signature skull seal on the end, handing it over. “It’s for someone in the mortal world above. Though the recipient herself isn’t really mortal.” “<em>Her</em>self?” Hermes raised his eyebrows with a baffled smirk, before he flipped the letter over to see the address. There wasn’t a specific location written on the envelope, only an elegant serif writing of a familiar name: <em>Persephone</em>. With a sly glance aiming for the pale boy, Kilik caught the two sisters grinning from ear to ear like little devils.</p>
<p>Kid blinked in confusion before turning around and seeing the grinning blondes, and making some sort of muffled sound like that of a dying whale. “Youreadthedraftsandnameonthefrontdidn’tyou.” His sentence rambled together through gritted teeth. Didn’t help that the two girls’ giddy humming grew as they inched closer.</p>
<p>Liz wrapped an arm around the deity’s shoulder, shaking him side to side for a moment. “Eros finally got you with his arrow, didn’t he?”</p>
<p>Practically gray skin flushed up into a light pink. “N-no he didn’t!”</p>
<p>“Aww!! Kiddo’s got a girlfriend!!” Patty squealed, hugging him by the neck in excitement.</p>
<p>“I do not! I barely know her!”</p>
<p>Kilik raised his eyebrow, still looking at the name on the envelope. He was curious how he actually met Demeter’s daughter. “Then why do you want to be her pen-pal?”</p>
<p>The death god squirmed out of his assistants’ grasp, smoothing out his shirt. “Well—You see, I met her a few weeks ago and she said that if I ever came back above, that she’d like to see me again. With everything Father has wanted me to do, I haven’t had time to go back and I just—I don’t want to let her down thinking I forgot about her?”</p>
<p>“So you’re saying you still want to keep in touch?”</p>
<p>Hades nodded. “Precisely.”</p>
<p>“How come?” Hermes asked, a little amused by how easily the black and white boy tensed up at the question.</p>
<p>“It… might be a good opportunity to learn more about mortals from someone who watches them as they live above, yes?”</p>
<p>“Then why don’t you actually go up and observe them for yourself?” Liz smirked, though her sister gasped in realization.</p>
<p>“No way, sis! Kid’s super scary to people! If they saw him being a stalker of their daily lives, they’d be all ‘oh nooo!! Hades had come for our soouuuuls!!’” Patty shouted in a high-pitched moan, dramatically leaning back.</p>
<p>Hades hesitantly nodded, though couldn’t help but roll his eyes as well. “That’s a good point as well, Patty. A little overdramatic, but a good point.”</p>
<p>The said younger sister blew a raspberry with her tongue. “Overdramatic? Puh-lease! I’m not the guy who spent more than 10 hours working on a letter to a girl!”</p>
<p>“I’m still confused as to why everyone is freaking out over that!” The death deity threw his hands up. “Is it really that out of place for me to want to return the gesture of kindness?”</p>
<p>“Not really!” The dark skinned boy chuckled. “I’m not surprised Perse would want to befriend you; that girl will try to befriend just about anyone and everyone. I’m more shocked you’re wanting to reach out too.”</p>
<p>Hades sighed. “She’s just a girl I want to get acquainted with, and possibly learn more from. <em>Nothing. More.</em>” He glared once more at Liz and Patty, who still had those sly, poo-eating grins on their faces.</p>
<p>“Still, you <em>rarely</em> talk to other girls.” The sandy haired blonde crossed her arms.</p>
<p>“I talk to you two all the time!”</p>
<p>Liz jokingly scoffed, hand over her chest. “So does that mean you don’t see us as girls?”</p>
<p>“That’s not what I—“ Kid rubbed his temples and turned to Hermes. “<em>Anyways</em>, you could deliver it to her, right?”</p>
<p>The delivery boy clicked his tongue. “Yeah, man! I know the fields she and her mom stay in.” He nudged Kid with his elbow, and gave the cheesiest wink. “Don’t worry, I’ll be the best <em>wing</em>man to ya as possible.”</p>
<p>Golden irises narrowed sharply at the pun, as Hades pushed the winged deity off and shooed him away. “Just get it to her!”</p>
<p>“Bye-bye, Hermie!!” Patty waved outside the room before turning around to see Kid melt onto his knees, curling up on all fours. A brief snort was shushed by the older sister, who crouched down and patted the boy’s back.</p>
<p>“C’mon, don’t sulk like that. We were just messing around with you— probably a little too much, I’ll admit. I’m glad you found someone you want to talk to more often. You need more friends.”</p>
<p>Golden, misty eyes glanced up with an accompanying pout. “That’s not helping,” he muttered. “I don’t even know if she’ll write back—probably not.”</p>
<p>“Aww, don’t say that, or get into your garbage talk either!” The younger blonde sat down criss-cross. “You said she wanted to see you again, right? That’s gotta mean she likes you back!” she chirped, ruffling his partially striped hair.</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>A few days had passed, and Hermes found the field where Demeter and her daughter were helping some mortals plant their crops. Once the work seemed to be done, he waved, calling the young goddess over.</p>
<p>“Yo! Perse!”</p>
<p>The brunette looked over her shoulder to see her old friend and beamed. “Hermes! Mama! I’ll go and get our mail!!” she shouted to the auburn haired woman kneeling in the dirt before running over to meet with the delivery boy. “It’s great to see you again!!”</p>
<p>Kilik left one of his hands up for the girl to high-five, his other arm behind his back. “How’ve you been, Flower Power?”</p>
<p>“I’m doing well! The planting season arrived, and I’m helping my mother with setting up all of the seeds,” Yuri explained, bouncing a little on her toes. She couldn’t help it! An old friend was here again!! “What about you? How are you doing?”</p>
<p>The boy pushed up his glasses before setting down a small knapsack. “Eh, same-old, same-old. Checking in on everyone, and sending messages back and forth. Speaking of messages, here’s the usual stuff for your mom,” he shuffled through his bag and hand her a stack of envelopes, before taking his other arm from behind his back, Hades’ own letter in between his fingers. “And a special little delivery for yourself!”</p>
<p>Perse’s eyes grew wide, her hands gently grabbing the envelope. “I got a letter? Who’s it from?” Her name was penciled elegantly across the front of the envelope. “Whoever it is writes really really well!” Cerulean eyes glanced in the upper corner for the return address, only to be met with blank paper.</p>
<p>Kilik clicked his tongue. Of course he didn’t write who it’s from, because it would only be on one side. “Ah—I think he forgot to write it, but it’s from Hades.”</p>
<p>“Hades?!” The girl’s cheeks flushed pink, the letter covering her little smile. “That’s—that’s sweet of him to write to me. I was wondering if he forgot I existed,” she sheepishly chuckled.</p>
<p>“Oh no, not like that at all! Underground is awfully busy, and I think he was feeling bad. Said this is how you two can keep in touch.” Hermes patted the brunette’s head. “I don’t think he forgot about you at all.” If anything, he might’ve thought about her for awhile.</p>
<p>Yuri flipped the letter over, noticing the black wax seal. “It’s on so nicely—I feel like I’d ruin it if I peel it off.”</p>
<p>The delivery boy sputtered a laugh. “I think you’d drive him crazier if you didn’t read it,” he said, picking his backpack up. “I gotta get to my next stop. Let me know when your own letter back is ready, ‘kay?”</p>
<p>“Right!” Perse nodded feverently. “If you see Hades soon, tell him that he’s very sweet for writing to me!”</p>
<p>Oh, that was gonna make Kiddo a flustered mess. Of course he was gonna pass that back to him! “Sure thing! Take care, Yuri!” Hermes saluted before walking away from the fields.</p>
<p>“You too!” the girl shouted back, her mom’s letters tucked by her chest as she held the letter for herself in front of her. That warm, excited smile curled her lips upward once more.</p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>When the young goddess wrote back, she brought along her own questions about the underworld. How cold was it down there? How did people get food, or water, or light? Was it difficult handling everyone down there?</p>
<p>The questions piqued Kid’s interest, and he answered them all to the best of his ability, asking his own questions about the world above. Through various exchanges came all sorts of little questions about each other’s lives, philosophies, the whole shebang. Stories were exchanged that caused both of them to laugh out loud while reading them.</p>
<p>Thankfully, the young death god visited his pen pal in person several times as well! At first, he attempted to discuss possible garden reorganization into more specific floral and plant categories:</p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>“What do you mean it needs to be rearranged? Does it look bad?”</p>
<p>Kid realized too late that his plan was probably going to be seen as offensive. How could he word this without making it worse? “No, it doesn’t look horrible, just… chaotic? You can correct me if I name them wrong, but you have marigolds with violets, rose angels surrounding that, and then daisies and snapdragons between those; they’re not even in any kind of pattern!”</p>
<p>He—he got down all the flowers perfectly. Somebody’d been doing his research.</p>
<p>“Well, they’re wildflowers,” Perse couldn’t help but giggle. “They grow wherever they please.”</p>
<p>“But you can control where they grow, can’t you?”</p>
<p>Yuri shrugged, crouching to cup a few of the flowers in her hands. “Yes and no? I can plant them wherever I want, and I could take them out of the ground and move them again— but these flowers have already bloomed and their seeds scatter around this general area anyways. Even if I wanted to move it all around, the wildflowers would still grow in the same spots as before.”</p>
<p>“That and you don’t want to move them at all, do you?” Kid flatly asked, which caused the brunette to sheepishly glance at him.</p>
<p>“Well, not really to be honest—but I have reasons for their arrangement!! Yeah, they’d all look pretty grouped together: daisies with daisies, violets with violets, etcetera etcetera—but it would all look the same. Planting different flowers closer to each other not only helps the soil stay fertile, but it’s even more beautiful when they can each bring something individually to make a unique and wonderful group, don’t you think?”</p>
<p>He didn’t know how, or why, but her words suddenly became an analogy that he couldn’t stop thinking about. Hades crouched down beside her, a slight curl of a smile inching across his face. “I suppose you’re right. Plus, it may be more of a pain digging them up and switching them around, regardless,” he murmured as he watched her hands begin to glow.</p>
<p>“I can do this, though, if it’ll make you happy. What’s your favorite flower you’ve seen so far?”</p>
<p>He blinked, his eyes glancing back down at the various blossoms scattered across the fields. Black eyebrows furrowed in decisive thought. “Flowers themselves are actually very symmetrical, and many of them are beautiful in that alone. Camellias and lillies especially, but I would probably say… carnations.”</p>
<p>“Ah—” When he turned back to her, the three types of flowers he mentioned sprung from her hands and were falling out of her arms like a fountain. “Sorry!” Yuri sheepishly smiled, “I was gonna give you a bouquet to take back home, but I guess now you get three favorites instead of one, huh?”</p>
<p>Kid chuckled before covering his mouth, catching the girl off guard. She blinked, a small, excited twinkle in her eyes.</p>
<p>“Did—did you just laugh?”</p>
<p>“No!”</p>
<p>“Yes you did! I definitely heard you!” Her smile grew into a delighted grin.</p>
<p>He sighed with a defeated smile. “Alright, you caught me. I enjoy myself around you, and you’re too cute to handle—“ he covered his mouth again, slight redness covered by his hands as well.</p>
<p>Persephone herself blushed before scooping up the stray blooms. “Well, I’m glad you enjoy my company,” she muttered before looking over the bouquet. “Though… why carnations? They’re not as noticeably symmetrical—I can’t even tell if they are or not.”</p>
<p>“They are, for the most part actually. Plus, they’re covered in ruffles, much like what you often wear…” He bit the inside of his lip—you idiot!!</p>
<p>“They remind you of me?”</p>
<p>Kid glanced at the brunette, subtly nodding.</p>
<p>A small, flustered smile grew on Yuri’s face. “Well, that’s sweet of you to say too.”</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Accidental flirting aside, the two deities would converse over all sorts of things in the fields; opinions over different food, weather, animals, all sorts of things. Turns out, Kid had dogs—several “hell hounds” that were raised to guard the underworld, and be his companions. When Yuri found out about Cerberus (the head honcho, and Kid’s favorite) she freaked out, and begged for the beast to come with him some day. The very next visit, he brought his massive hell hound, and was stunned at how he warmed up to the girl so quickly; it was honestly adorable how she got teary eyed over not having enough hands to pet all three heads.</p>
<p>With enough time, they gradually opened up to one another over future plans and worries. Hades clearly had a planned legacy to take his father’s place as king of the underworld, but Persephone’s future was much blurrier. Her mother could help plants grow splendidly all on her own… there wasn’t much of a need for another goddess of vegetation.</p>
<p>Well, years passed (decades? Centuries? Who knows—a god’s perception of time was always a little blurry as they aged), the two grew up and became young adults. Kid’s visits were less frequent, and the letters were exchanged at a much slower rate as the young man was being prepared for the throne.</p>
<p>However, one sunny day, a familiar black cloaked figure walked in the gardens looking for Demeter’s daughter. Soon enough, he saw her gathering a bouquet in the sunlight, lovely as always. The cloaked man walked up and tapped her shoulder.</p>
<p>“Hm?” The brunette looked over her shoulder to find golden eyes gazing at her fondly under a black preacher hat; she immediately spun around and practically tackled him in an embrace. “Kid! You’re back!”</p>
<p>Kid couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. He had grown a fair amount, but she maybe only grew an inch or so; now that they were young adults, her head nestled right at his chest when she hugged him. “I’m sorry it’s been so long… a lot has happened back home.” He placed both of his hands around her face, moving stray hair aside.</p>
<p>“That’s ok! I’m just glad you’re here now.” Persephone giggled, her own hands on top of his. They were still small and soft like petals. Cerulean irises glanced at the massive hat covering his hair— not something he usually wore. “What’s with the hat?”</p>
<p>“Oh! Well, there’s a surprise I want to show you. You have to close your eyes first, ok?” Hades smiled—a real, genuine smile that hadn’t been seen in awhile.</p>
<p>Yuri nodded, shuttling her eyes tightly and placing her own hands over them. “I’m not peeking!”</p>
<p>“I know. I trust you.” He chuckled again, taking off his hat and placing it on the petite goddess’s head. “Ok, you can open your eyes now.”</p>
<p>Rather than one side of his black hair being covered in three white stripes, the white lines now wrapped all the way around, his hair fully black and white. Perse beamed, intertwining her hands with the death god’s. “Your lines connected all the way! That means you’re finally symmetrical, right?”</p>
<p>“Correct!” Kid nodded, quite proud of himself. “This also means that I am now, officially, King of the Underworld.”</p>
<p>The goddess bobbed up and down on her toes. “Ah! Congratulations! That’s wonderful—“ the small bounces halted as her expression saddened.</p>
<p>Gold eyes shone with concern. “What’s the matter?”</p>
<p>“Nothing, really! I’m happy for you, and it’s wonderful that you’re king now—“ She reassured him, a small exhale afterwards. “It’s just… since you’re going to be leading your home… I’ll probably never see you again, huh?”</p>
<p>Kid’s shoulders dropped as he glanced to the ground covered in grass and flowers. She always knew how to cut to the things he never knew how to transition into. “I will be busier, and probably have next to no time to come to the surface—but that—it doesn’t mean I won’t be able to see you! In fact… if you really wanted, I wouldn’t mind seeing you every day,” he stammered, holding Perse’s hands tightly.</p>
<p>“I—I’d love that too, but that’s just not possible.” Persephone sighed. “I mean, unless I came down to visit you every now and then, but I don’t want to bother you with all of your priorities!”</p>
<p>The black and white man leaned down so his forehead touched hers. “Yuri, I know I’ve been horrible with showing it, but you <em>are</em> one of my priorities. As I’ve gotten to know you, I’ve only been able to confirm what I noticed when I met you back when we were younger; you’re incredibly kind-hearted and have a laugh that I adore hearing. I can talk about anything and everything with you. It always baffles and delights me how you’re so warm and loving to everyone that you encounter.”</p>
<p>Every single compliment he gave with that soft voice only made the young woman’s face heat up more, practically a bright cherry red by the time he was done. “G-geez, you’re sweet saying all of that about me—“</p>
<p>“I only say it because it’s true,” he murmured before taking another breath. Now here came the terrifying part. “Empathy is something I’ve noticed I don’t really have a lot of—except for only a handful of people. You have that in spades, and it would be quite useful Underground. You’d provide a much more…” He paused, snapping his fingers for the right words, “A much more balanced verdict on others than me with my logic. Well, I’m sure you’d use your logic as well, as you’re bright too! I mean more—if someone had more ambiguous, morally gray reasons to commit a crime, you could help them not just be punished but grow as a person?”</p>
<p>Yeah, Persephone’s slightly furrowed eyebrows were enough to tell she was barely following his rambling.</p>
<p>With a long exhale and an audible gulp, Hades scavenged the inside of his cloak. “Basically, what I mean to say is that… is that you have been teaching me that compassion is important for keeping a sense of belonging in a system of order. That would make you a phenomenal queen—I mean, if you ever were to be a queen. If you wanted to be a—wait no no let me rephrase this!“ he stuttered, shaking his head rapidly, getting what he wanted to say in line.</p>
<p>The goddess couldn’t help but crack a small smile, hiding it with her hands. His flustered speech was always adorable, after all—but he was talking about her being a queen… no, no he couldn’t be…?! Her eyes soon glimmered as the man got down on his knees.</p>
<p>From his coat, Hades pulled out a small box, opening it to reveal two small, perfectly polished, silver rings shaped like lillies. “Persephone—Yuri… Petal, I would be honored if you would stay by my side as Queen of the Underworld—!!”</p>
<p>Before the proposal even got close to being done, the brunette basically tackled him, causing them both to fall to the ground into the grass and flowers. When she let go, she was on top of him with a beaming grin. “If you’re asking me to marry you, you know you didn’t have to have a monologue or anything!”</p>
<p>“I did too! I’ve been planning to ask you this for weeks! Otherwise I’d stutter even more, and make incoherent sounds!” Now Kid’s face burned with an embarrassed delight.</p>
<p>“You’d still sound adorable and get a yes out of me!” she laughed, soon blinking in realization. “What about your dad? Or my mother? Would they approve of such—“</p>
<p><a id="return3-4" name="return3-4"></a> Deathly pale hands cupped her face once more. “I wrote to your mother around a week ago asking for her blessing, and she honestly encouraged me to ask as soon as possible [<a href="#note3-4">4</a>].” Hades’ eyes grew more melancholy at the thought of his recently late father.</p>
<p>“Since I’m the new king… the old king is now gone. I honestly don’t know if Father would’ve wanted me to marry you. However, a king can request whatever he wants!” He sat up, now holding the goddess around the shoulders. “And if you couldn’t tell by now, what I want is you.” Pulling her closer, he softly smooched the top of the brunette’s forehead before simply holding her close.</p>
<p>Persephone’s eyebrows wrinkled in concern, but she didn’t know what to say. Was there anything that she needed to say? He didn’t sound grief-stricken in the slightest—maybe it occurred earlier, a few weeks or months ago? Then Kid would have to get accustomed to ruling as a king… it made sense, but she didn’t know if she should ask.</p>
<p>The goddess rested her head on his chest, hugging him tightly. “If you need to talk more about your dad, you can tell me about him. Maybe you miss him a lot, maybe you don’t,” she said softly. “I never really met him, but since you want me in your family… I’d be ok with knowing about your other family too, and how you feel towards them.”</p>
<p>There it was. The compassion for his reaction over Father’s passing. The compassion that he found so beautiful and valuable. Kid let out a soft sigh. “Thank you for the concern, really. I may bring him up more later, but not right now.” Now, he just wanted to focus on the moment and the upcoming future where he could hold her like this whenever he wanted.</p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“And he took her home to become his queen</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Where the sun never shone</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>On anyone.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Maka looked up from the book, all four staring back, fully engaged.</p>
<p>“Go on,” Patty nodded eagerly.</p>
<p>Another chord was played.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“The lady loved him and the kingdom they shared,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But without her above, not one flower would grow.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Almost half a year had passed since Persephone became queen of the underworld, and that alone brought much change for the world below. A more up-close experience of how the kingdom executed its rules, getting adjusted to how the queen could have her say in them. Though it took a while to get used to everything, she adored getting to know the kingdom’s people, Liz and Patty, and of course all of the security dogs. With time, everything settled into place for a new era of the Underworld; a new king with his beloved queen by his side for the rest of time.</p>
<p>Sadly, fate brought upon a different plan for both worlds above and below. That system began when a woman wearing a long, dark green coat walked Underground to the royal manor, and rang the doorbell with a little more urgency than normally seen with her.</p>
<p>“I’ll get it!” A bright voice shouted inside, the dashing of shoes being heard before a short haired blonde swung open the door. Patty’s excited grin dimmed ever so slightly with surprise; standing in front of her was a woman dressed in different greens and oranges, auburn hair in a high ponytail that reached her hips.</p>
<p>Despite her less than chipper aura, the stranger gave a pleasant smile. “Hello there.”</p>
<p>“Hi! You need somethin’?”</p>
<p>“Yes, actually.” The auburn haired lady took a small step closer to the door to peek inside. “Are Hades and Yu—I mean Persephone home? I’d like to talk to them as soon as possible. It’s urgent.”</p>
<p>Patty placed her hands on the doorframe to keep the woman from looking inside. She seemed friendly, but you could never be too careful. “What do you need to talk to them about?” she asked, with a more threatening gleam in her eyes.</p>
<p>“You see, I need to—“</p>
<p>“Mother?!”</p>
<p>Low and behold, the new queen had stepped into the entry hall, and bolted to the door as soon as she saw a familiar face at the door. “Mother! You never said you were on your way to visit!” Persephone pulled her mother into the mansion with a hug.</p>
<p>“My trip here is actually more spontaneous than I’d like to admit,” Demeter said, embracing her daughter tightly for a few moments, then stepping back to get a good look at her baby and how much she grew up even after the wedding.</p>
<p>“Wait, so this is your mama?” Patty asked as she closed the door.</p>
<p>The auburn haired woman nodded to the blonde. “Demeter: Goddess of agriculture and harvest.”</p>
<p>“Name’s Patty! Not sure if I count as a goddess or not, but I’m one of Kiddo’s hand-ladies!”</p>
<p>Demeter smiled, offering a hand for Patty to shake, her other arm holding her daughter. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Patty.”</p>
<p>“You’re Yuri’s mom, then?” A taller, more sandy-blonde haired lady walked up to the trio, arm around her sister. “I’m Liz, this cutie’s older sister and Kid’s other assistant.”</p>
<p>As Liz was greeted by the mother and the four women began to chat about how things had been in the underworld, one last pair of footsteps walked into the entrance hall. He waited for the unexpected guest to formally confirm who she was before coming to greet her himself, though it was still surprising that Yuri’s mother came down here of her own will.</p>
<p>Demeter herself soon shifted from laughing at her daughter’s stories of the dogs to a more serious expression. There was a reason she was here in the first place, after all. “Hello, Hades.” She still kept a smile on her face, though it subtly quivered.</p>
<p>“I’m surprised to see you here.” Hades walked up to his mother-in-law, intertwining one of Persepone’s hands with his. Not to really show anything, though—it had simply become a habit whenever the couple were beside each other in the same room. “Is there any sort of reason?”</p>
<p>“I wish I could say I’m simply here to chat… but I’m not.” The mother sighed with her shoulders drooping in dread. “I need to talk with you and Yuri.”</p>
<p>Perse grew concerned at the heaviness in her mama’s voice. “What is it?”</p>
<p>“Something’s happening above that I never even expected to occur...”</p>
<p>
  <em>“Nothing is growing above?”</em>
</p>
<p>Demeter sadly nodded at Kid’s confirmation. “I’ve done everything I can think of to try helping the plants regain life, but nothing worked. Crops that were ripening before you two got married gradually began to wither; the same with flowers and other plants. Trees lost their leaves, which have changed from green to a variety of colors. The temperature dropped significantly, to the point where snow and frost covers everything on the ground, and falls from the sky.”</p>
<p>Silence saturated Hades’s office as everyone processed what they were told.</p>
<p>“The colored leaves and snow all sound pretty,” Patty mumbled to herself.</p>
<p>Yuri clenched her hands in her lap. “Yeah, it does sound pretty, but… if nothing’s growing, and—and all of the crops people planted died before they could be harvested… that means people are running out of food.”</p>
<p>“Not to mention if it got colder that suddenly, mortals are struggling to adapt and find appropriate ways to keep warm.” Kid muttered. Then it dawned on him. “Several have arrived down here, stating that they wanted to escape hunger and the cold; I kept wondering why that was the case!”</p>
<p>So there were signs way down underground as well. The harvest goddess exhaled a stressed laugh. Now came the actual conundrum. “I’ve been trying to understand what could cause such a drastic change if I’ve been up in the mortal realm the whole time—but then, I realized something. It got colder and everything after you two got married, so I figured that maybe…” Demeter took in one last breath before spitting out her guess. “Maybe it’s because Yuri isn’t up there with me that the seasons changed so suddenly and drastically.”</p>
<p>As she figured, a tense, anxious aura punctured the little room.</p>
<p>Patty had gone from curious to disappointed, her lip pouting and her eyebrows puckering. “Does that mean she’s gotta go?”</p>
<p>“At least for awhile, maybe,” Demeter ran her hands through her own hair, not daring to look at any of the other’s expressions; her own heart would ache too much.</p>
<p>“Hold on, you’re saying you’re gonna split them up?! After we just got situated with her down here and everything?” Liz leaned forward, uncrossing her legs. “I mean I get we don’t want worldwide famines or anything—but you could’ve said something sooner, right?”</p>
<p>Her sister nodded in agreement. “Yeah! Not to mention you’re basically asking them to immediately divorce after they just got ma—“</p>
<p>“That’s enough, you two.”</p>
<p>Kid placed his hands in front of his assistants, a silencing motion before they made any of them feel worse about the situation. Did he want to give Persephone back to her mother? No, of course not! On the other hand, did he want to cause several more souls coming down below because the earth above was withering away? Obviously not that either; even if he had a kingdom to run, too many people coming in at one time would strain the population—not to mention the rest of the world’s order would be way off balance. He rubbed his temples, racking his brain for any sort of answer to his situation—though his wife seemed to have a solution in mind.</p>
<p>“Ok. I’ll go.”</p>
<p>The other four looked to see Persephone standing up from her seat, gripping her dress tightly and taking shaky breaths in and out.</p>
<p>Liz hesitantly reached out a hand, but never actually brought it to the goddess. “You’re just gonna go like that?”</p>
<p>“I don’t really have much of a choice. Not if people could… not if people could die because of me,” Yuri glanced over her shoulder with a weak smile, more for herself than the others. “I can’t let my title as ‘Bringer of Death’ actually be accurate, right?”</p>
<p>Kid took one of her hands into his, looking up from staring at his shoes for the past minute. “Of course not, but we need to think of a more concrete plan for this.” his eyes shifted to Demeter, a lack of a subtle glare in them. “You’re not planning for her to stay with you forever again, right?”</p>
<p>“Of course not!” the mother quickly answered. “I’m not wanting to split you two up right after a wedding— that wouldn’t be fair to either of you.”</p>
<p>Hades dropped his shoulders with slight relief. “Alright, then how long would it take for enough crops to grow for harvesting?”</p>
<p>“Well, to allow things to be planted, and properly grow and ripen… I’d say at least 6 months or so.”</p>
<p>Kid gave half of a smile, squeezing his wife’s hand in assurance. “Around half of the year then? Well, at least it would be an even distribution.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>So King Hades agreed that for half of each year,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>She would stay with him there in his world down below.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But the other half, she could walk in the sun,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And the sun, in turn, burned twice as bright...</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Which is where the seasons come from,”</em>
</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Maka finished telling the tale straight from the book, but continued to speak-sing to Soul’s melody.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“And with them, the cycle</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Of the seed and the sickle</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And the lives of the people</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And the birds in their flight…”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She trailed off, unsure how to keep the song alive. Liz lifted her hat from resting on her face, her sister and Hermes laying on the bench with their eyes closed. The older blonde hummed for the melody she first heard to repeat.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Singing…”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“La la la la la la la…</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>La la la la la la la</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>La la la la la la la…</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>La la la la la la la~”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Soul sang the melody once more, repeating a hemiola in the second and third verses. Nature took delight in the song; the air grew warmer, some of the weight in its aura being lifted.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Down below and up above</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>In harmony and rhythm;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The Gods sang this song of love</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And the world sang it with them.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But that was long ago,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Before we were on this road.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><a id="note3-1" name="note3-1"></a>1<br/>Shade was what the Greeks called a soul.<sup>[<a href="#return3-1">return to text</a>]</sup><br/><a id="note3-2" name="note3-2"></a>2<br/>Who might this girly be? She's one of my own characters for the Soul Eater universe, Shirayuri "Yuri" Tanaka! Yes, giving an oc this kind of role is controversial, but Persephone just suits her a l o t, y'know? I hope you get to know her over the course of this story, along with my other works with her!<sup>[<a href="#return3-2">return to text</a>]</sup><br/><a id="note3-3" name="note3-3"></a>3<br/>Peonies represent a number of different concepts: Honor, wealth, beauty in all forms, bashfulness, and oddly enough, romantic love between two strangers.<sup>[<a href="#return3-3">return to text</a>]</sup><br/><a id="note3-4" name="note3-4"></a>4<br/>In the original myth, Demeter was either against the marriage or had no clue that it even happened, becoming worried and angry when she saw her daughter was missing. The woman who’s taking Demeter’s role, Annabel Tanaka (Yuri’s mom), is much more relaxed than the goddess of harvest, knew about her daughter’s pen pal and her feelings towards him, and simply supported her baby being happy. However, everyone will soon learn that Persephone is still a necessity for the world. <sup>[<a href="#return3-4">return to text</a>]</sup><br/></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Livin' It Up on Top</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Once the song faded to its end, Soul opened his eyes to see a happily surprised Maka, and their three audience members giving light applause. Well, Hermes and Liz had moderate golf claps; Patty clapped with more energy at the tips of her fingers, like a seal. The first performance of this newly formed duo, and it went off pretty dang well!</p>
<p>“That was great!!” Patty chirped.</p>
<p>Kilik nodded in agreement. “It really was. Especially the little freestyle at the end! How long have you two worked together?”</p>
<p>Maka blinked, looked at the white haired musician, and squinted at herself. “Like… for ten or twenty minutes? How long have we been sitting here?”</p>
<p>“Uh….” Soul glanced at his wrists for a nonexistent watch, pursing his lips with the realization he didn’t even have one. The little reaction made Patty giggle, and Hermes crack an amused smile as he checked his own watch.</p>
<p>“Only 10 minutes, and you’ve already got something going? Dang!” He whistled. “That’s some momentum if I’ve ever seen it! What are you planning to do with the music?”</p>
<p>The pigtailed girl eagerly answered. “We’re going to write a song that could help spring come back. Since everyone is sick of how the weather changes on a whim like it does now.”</p>
<p>Her response caused smiles to shift to intrigued, cautious stares from the dark-skinned man and longer haired blonde. The latter exhaled a small laugh. “Normally, I’d ask how the hell you would even do that, but you already showed the answer. That song of theirs hasn’t been heard in a while… I missed it.”</p>
<p>“You mean that song was one Hades and Persephone used to sing?” Maka tilted her head. They had mentioned that the song was familiar to them as well as that specific tale. Soul looked at her once, then twice; a double take on what she said.</p>
<p>“Yep,” Liz nodded, glancing at the bare train tracks. “Though I don’t know if she’d like to hear it again or not.”</p>
<p>Soul squinted in confusion. “Wait—who’s ‘she?’”</p>
<p>“Persephone! Duh!” Patty giggled, especially as the musician’s red eyes widened in surprise.</p>
<p>“Wait wait wait. You mean to tell me that Persephone, the goddess of spring, is a <em>legitimate person</em>?!” Soul sputtered a laugh. “Next thing you know, you’re gonna say that Apollo or Hermes is real too. Better yet, sitting here right with us,”</p>
<p>Oh if only he knew. Liz snorted, covering her mouth as Patty smirked and made little jazz hands towards the deity in between them. The dark skinned man bit the inside of his lip to prevent a massive grin from growing and revealing that little hint. Though the ends of his mouth still curled up as he waved his fingers in the musician’s face.</p>
<p>The musician thought nothing of it, blinking with confused, furrowed brows. Then, he saw the two sister’s horribly hidden grins; tan skin paled slightly in shock, jaw dropped to show shark teeth and everything. “Holy crap, <em>you’re</em> Hermes?!”</p>
<p>“The one and only!” Kilik grinned, bowing from his seat before stretching out his legs. Under the cuffs of his pants peeked small feathered wings on the end of his shoes, fluttering for a moment and settling back down. “Just in case you need proof.” He winked, rolling up one of the pant legs for a better view of his slick kicks.</p>
<p>Maka raised her eyebrows in surprise as her partner stammered for the right words. “How come you’re so shocked?”</p>
<p>Soul turned to the pigtailed girl with the same bewildered expression plastered on his face. “Well I would think that realizing that <em>gods and goddesses actually exist</em> is pretty surprising!” Here he was on the brink of an existential crisis over a supposedly normal fact of life—not what he expected to happen on this pit stop.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, it’s shocking for everyone who finds out it’s true,” Liz patted the boy’s white, fluffy hair in an attempt to comfort him. Even now there were times she thought over how crazy it was that beings not too different from them (in appearance and psyche, at least) presided over life, death, and the natural order of things.</p>
<p>Emerald green irises looked to the red flower between her thumb and the book, realizing that… yeah. Discovering gods and music that caused plants to grow is all pretty world-shaking. Maka herself simply grew accustomed to seeing them regularly swing by in town, probably without even realizing she accepted it as a part of her life. Though since these deities <em>were</em> in her life, it would be pretty easy to interview them and gain more primary sources for the song.</p>
<p>She nudged Soul with the flower, an eager smile curling up on her face. “If you have any questions for them on how the universe and everything works, I’m sure they’d be happy to answer them! Especially ones about Persephone and Hades, right?” Maka looked towards the other three, rapidly blinking for effect.</p>
<p>While Liz and Hermes glanced to each other unsure what to do, Patty placed a finger to her cheek. “If it’s info on those two that ya want… why don’t ya ask Perse herself? She’s supposed to be coming here soon, after all!”</p>
<p>Just as Soul thought he eased out of a surprised expression, it sprung back up on his face; eyes wide and jaw only slightly agape. “Wha—so she actually exists, <em>and now she’s swinging b</em>y in the middle of nowhere?!” This town was much livelier than he thought.</p>
<p><a id="return4-1" name="return4-1"></a> Kilik stood up as he looked at the dull sky, then back to the others. “I wouldn’t say this town is in the middle of nowhere, really. It’s one of the further stops on the railroad lines; the road to hell, as I like to put it,” he explained, his tone shifting to fit that of a storyteller<sup>[<a href="#note4-1">1</a>]</sup>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“And on the road to hell, </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>there was a lot of waiting.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Mmm...Waiting!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As the five already in the station were absorbed in the singing and conversation, none of them had really picked up on the crowded chatter of local townspeople piling into the train station, each of them eager to reunite with the goddess of spring. Hums and a small chant vibrated through the crowd as Hermes explained the situation.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Everybody waiting on a train…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Mmm...Waiting on a lady with a—”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Waiting on a train to bring that lady</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>With the suitcase back again.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hermes threw a hand up at the train chugging closer and closer to the station, the other pointing towards Soul; the boy had to understand the situation somehow.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>She's never early, always late!</em></p>
<p>
  <em>These days she never stays for long.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Liz leaned in to the songwriting duo with a wink,</p>
<p>
  <em>“But good things come to those who wait.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Wooo! Wooo! A whistle crescendoed as the train finally pulled into the station, steam puffing out as a stopping finale. One of the car doors pushed out of its mold before sliding to the side with a small rumble, Patty pointing to the car and shouting,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Here she comes!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>First thing that caught people's attention was the bright green skirt that swayed as black boots stepped down off the train car; a petite woman wore that skirt, along with a matching shirt with puffed up sleeves. Wavy, chestnut brown hair came down to her hips, and was held from her face by a crown of lilies, carnations, and other pink and red flowers of spring and summertime. Bright cerulean eyes shone with delight, a warm smile and massive wave greeting everyone in the station. “Hi, everyone!”</p>
<p>Instantly, the crowd uproared in joyful cheers and applause; Persephone has finally returned! The goddess stepped away from the train, giggling while taking in all of the people. She hummed,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Well it's like he said, </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I'm an outdoor girl—”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“And you're late again!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hermes clicked his tongue sarcastically, opening his arms up for a hug nonetheless. Instantly, Perse ran in and squeezed her old friend as tight as she could, before stepping back and rolling her eyes playfully.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Married to the king of the underworld,”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She explained her absence before noticing the two blondes, running to them in another group embrace.</p>
<p>Kilik glanced at a confused Soul and winked as he gestured to the new arrival,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“She forgot a little thing called spring.”</em>
</p>
<p>Persephone stepped back from her hug with Liz and Patty and spread her arms to everyone else watching her in the station.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Are you wondering where I've been?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Although it was a rhetorical question, it brought up chatter nonetheless amongst the townspeople, with only a few voices heard clearly above the others.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Yeah!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Where you been?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“I'm wondering!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The brunette in question chuckled with a roll of her eyes, soon leaning in to pull the others closer to her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Been to hell, and back again,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But like my mama always said:</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Brother when you're down, you're down,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>When you're up, you're up;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>If you ain't six feet underground, you're living it up on top!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Persephone waved a hand dismissing her speech, placing her handbag on a bench and pulling out a generously sized glass bottle practically filled to the brim with maroon liquid.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Let's not talk about hard times,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Pour the wine, it's summertime!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>'Cause right now we're livin' it—” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“How are we livin' it?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A chorus roared as they recognized the bottle’s contents. Were they excited about free alcohol and a chance to party or for their goddess returning to them? Up to interpretation. Nonetheless, Perse couldn’t help but dance a little shimmy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Livin' it, livin' it up!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh brother, right here we're livin' it—” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Where are we livin' it?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Livin' it up on top!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Patty soon yanked a glass out of the woven bag, arm around Persephone and already looking absolutely drunk despite not having a drop yet.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Who makes the summer sun shine bright?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>That's right, Persephone!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Liz chuckled at her sister, wrapping another arm around the tiny goddess and taking the bottle of wine out of her hands to display.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Who makes the fruit of the vine get ripe?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Townspeople eagerly answered,</p>
<p>
  <em>“Persephone!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“That's me!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Yuri giggled, going along with the ego boosting. She was already hoping to raise some spirits— might as well include herself!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Who makes the flowers bloom again, in spite of a man?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Everyone answered,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“You do!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Who's doing the best she can?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Persephone, that's who.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>This last question was one Yuri whispered to herself for reassurance, before putting on a more cheerful face and walking around to give little gestures and waves to the townsfolk.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Now some might say, </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>the weather ain't the way it used to be,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But let me tell you something </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>that my mama said to me:</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>You take what you can get, and you make the most of it—”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Persephone jumped up onto a bench, arms up in celebration.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“So, right now we're livin' it!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“How are we livin' it?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The same question-answer chorus repeated itself as the goddess in green was ushered back down by Hermes, and began to lead a parade out into the town streets.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Livin' it, livin' it up!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh brother, right here we're livin' it!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Where are we livin' it?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Livin' it up on top!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>It was summertime on the road to hell</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Everyone that lingered in the station headed outside, where the grass rehydrated to brilliant greens with Persephone’s every skipping step. Clamoring grew as cups and wine were passed around, and people noticed vegetation growing once more; they could plant and harvest again!</p>
<p>While the three deities helped Persephone pass out refreshments up ahead, Soul had waited for the crowds to clear before joining them into town. The air grew warm, so he began to unbutton his torn-up coat. Naturally, everything he experienced since getting to the station took awhile to fully process. Though that’s not to say he wasn’t afraid of these gods, or what they may entail. In fact, he found his whole situation to be a stroke of luck. After roaming alone for so long, maybe now he could finally have a place to rest, a chance to eat more, an actual friend in Maka—someone who really seemed to believe in him.</p>
<p>Of course there was that little voice in the back of his mind saying it could all fall apart: The gods could grow angry with him, Maka could lose faith in him, and he would most likely end up all on his own again. Yet, in spite of himself and his little demon of negativity, Soul smiled and followed his new partner into the crowd. If he had the chance to not only survive, but truly live and create something with purpose, well, who wouldn’t take a risk and decide to stay?</p>
<p>Maka herself kept motioning him to hurry up to the crowd. She still held the flower in her hands, bringing it down to her chest and looking at it with fondness. It was a little boost knowing they could grow a plant from out of the blue despite being mortals; surely Persephone would be impressed, and in awe at their song project! Of all the people she could ask, who better to gain information on the world’s wacky weather than the one who causes it all to occur?</p>
<p>The last to step out of the station were none other than the Fates, poised with their respective instruments and watching the ignorant town celebrate practically nothing. Persephone would have to go back down, after all, and these days she was down below more and more during the year. Well, that little goddess was an incessant optimist; she probably wanted to give people a chance to be happy. Best to play along with the music for now, and wait for the real storm to brew.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Who says times are hard?"</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>The flowers bloomed, </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>and the fruit got ripe;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And brother, for a moment there,</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>"Anybody want a drink?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>The world came back to life!</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Music grew as the town’s handful of musicians found their trumpets, trombones, and tambourines; the sister Fates began to play surprisingly cheerfully. As tempos got faster and the volume crescendoed, many began to dance: swing, frolics, folk, all sorts of moves! Liz, Patty, and Hermes joined in on dancing, Persephone setting down her bag on a rock before being pulled into the fray. Maka cheerfully tapped her fingers on her own cup along to the music, slowly inching towards the woven bag overflowing with flowers and who knows what else! She leaned against a nearby revitalizing tree, gazing at the dancers with content. Well, temporary content at least. There was a lot of work ahead, but it wouldn’t hurt to celebrate the start of a new season either.</p>
<p>“You’re planning on getting info from Persephone by peeking into her bag?”</p>
<p>Pigtails sprung up to see the taller, feathery haired lad smirking, coat and lyre snug in one arm, a freshly ripened apple in the other. Instead of getting smushed in the line for booze, he found it best to actually let himself eat something. When was the last time he even had food?</p>
<p>“Wh-what?! No! Of course not!” Maka rapidly shook her head. “I’m waiting for Persephone so we can talk to her, that’s all!”</p>
<p>Soul gnawed another bite into his apple before speaking again with his mouth full. “Right. So that makes me a hobo-musician, and you a creeper-poet.”</p>
<p>“Creeper?! I’m nowhere even close to that!</p>
<p>“Lurking around someone’s bags is pretty suspicious, you know.</p>
<p>“Oh please! If anything, you’re the creeper! At least I don’t linger around in boxcars—”</p>
<p>“Aah!! Maka!” Before any more could be said, the girl turned around to see none other than Persephone herself, who quickly pulled her into a hug. She only let go slightly after a massive squeeze, hands still on her shoulders. “Oh my goodness, look at you! You’re growing into such a pretty young woman!”</p>
<p>Despite being much older than Maka, the brunette goddess only reached right at the pigtailed girl’s forehead. Petite was definitely the right word—maybe even an understatement!</p>
<p>Nonetheless, the young poet couldn’t help but exhale a laugh and feel her cheeks warm up. What else would you do if you felt you were hugged by sunlight? “Thank you, Miss Persephone. I’m glad you got back here safely.” She gave the goddess a cheerful smile.</p>
<p>“Aww, thank you! I’m glad to see you still around here!” Perse clapped her hands together, glancing at the new tall, lanky, messy white haired fellow who jumped a little when she asked, “I don’t think I've met you before! Who might you be?”</p>
<p>“Oh—uh, name’s Soul. I just showed up around here.” He tried to keep his diction as precise as possible with a mouth full of apple.</p>
<p>The brunette stepped up to him (her head reaching slightly below his shoulders) perching her hands on his arm. “Well then, it’s wonderful to meet you, Soul! Welcome to this little town! If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m Persephone, and I hope you enjoy it here!” She offered a hand to shake, big old eyes sparkling with friendliness.</p>
<p>Soul looked down at the apple in his hand before using his jagged teeth to bite into it, keeping it in that bite as he awkwardly shook hands with Persephone. “Thank you, miss…” Soul said as soon as the apple was out of his mouth. He couldn’t stop noticing all the flowers and leaves practically shedding off this tiny woman’s head. Red eyes followed small petals falling from her flower crown, unsure what exactly he was supposed to say to a legitimate goddess. Already he probably made a bizarre first impression.</p>
<p>Perse blinked for a moment, tilting her head in the direction he was staring into space. “Are you alright?”</p>
<p>Maka also leaned towards wherever Soul kept looking, noticing the little flower petals and leaves floating down from the goddess. She dryly chuckled, embarrassed. “Soul’s kinda just found out that gods exist and everything—excuse his staring,” she said through gritted teeth. Even if she’s known Persephone since she was small, she wanted to keep good relations with her; that didn’t include her thinking she hung out with weirdos!</p>
<p>Though the goddess didn’t seem weirded out at all; she had a gleam of something like curiosity in her eyes. “Really? You’ve never seen real deities before?”</p>
<p>By now, Soul had snapped back into the conversation, shaking his head. “Nope. Only in books and that kind of thing. I didn’t think you’d look so much like a normal person—or be so tinYIAAAOW!”</p>
<p>He winced as Maka kicked him in the shin. “You don’t just say something like that!”</p>
<p>“I didn’t say it was a bad thing that she’s short!” Soul clarified as he rubbed his sore leg. “Just that I didn’t think she would be!”</p>
<p>Persephone placed her hands up, waving them around in reassurance. “It’s ok! Really! I’ve had that pointed out to me too many times to keep track of—” By now she’s just accepted that she’s tiny and may be mistaken for a child or teenager; she’s just gotta live with it. She placed her hands in between the two to prevent more injuries, soon noticing the flower in Maka’s hand. Her arms softened their position as she gazed at it. “Where… did you find that flower?”</p>
<p>The pigtailed poet glanced down at the red bloom, grinning with excited pride. “We made it! Well, I guess more we had it grow up from some gravel somehow!”</p>
<p>Yuri blinked, cupping the blossom in her hands. It was a ruffled flower, most likely a carnation. He loved carnations. “You got a flower to grow out here? How?”</p>
<p>“I’m not entirely sure myself! Soul just started singing some sort of song, and then there were all of these echoing voices, and pop! It appeared!” Maka glanced over at the said musician, nodding with permission to join in the conversation.</p>
<p>Soul fumbled with the right words to say. How would one even explain such a phenomenon? “I mean—that doesn’t always happen—it never happened before. The flower and other voices part, I mean.”</p>
<p>The petite goddess only smiled at the musician. “Well, however it happened, it means you truly have a gift,” Yuri glanced back at the flower one more time.</p>
<p>Maka nodded in eager agreement. “He really does! And we’re actually planning to use that gift to fix the seaso—mmrf?!!“</p>
<p>Her mouth was covered by a half-eaten apple, Soul laughing with rigid nerves and embarrassment. “It’s a project to help with how things are now, but I don’t know if we <em>actually</em> can fix things up here—“</p>
<p>“Don’t sell yourself short!” Persephone chuckled, taking both of their hands into hers, squeezing them gently. “Whatever you’re planning, I’m already excited to see what becomes of it.” Her eyes shone with sincere encouragement and hope; maybe there could be a way to keep the world going without her needing to physically be there.</p>
<p>Maka took the apple out of her mouth and tossed it to an unprepared Soul, chewing on the piece she cleanly bit off. “Thank you… it’s my hope to even help improve how crappy things get here.” A sheepish lift of a smile curled up on her lips.</p>
<p>“And I really do appreciate that; I just want you to remember,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Up on top, we ain't got much,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But we're—“</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Livin’ it, Livin' it up!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The celebration echoed its continuing cheers, causing the three to glance over at the clump of dancers and drinkers. Persephone exhaled a small laugh as she reached down into her bag and pulled out another bottle; the first one was probably drained by now! Digging in once more for a spare glass for Soul, she poured more wine for him and Maka.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Just enough to fill our cups.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Livin' it up on top!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She handed the bottle to the tan musician, motioning everyone to come form a circle.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Brother, pass that bottle around</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>'Cause we're—“</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Livin' it, livin' it up!!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As the townspeople gathered for refills, Hermes motioned his cup to Maka.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Let the poet bless this round.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Cheers and hollers grew as Maka shyly took a step further into the circle, cup in her hand pointing at the goddess providing all of the festivity.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“To the patroness of all of this, </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Persephone!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Hear hear!” </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Patty hooted, as others soon echoed her cheer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Who has finally returned to us</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>with wine enough to share! </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Asking nothing in return </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>except that we should live,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And learn to live as brothers in this life,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And to trust she will provide.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The circle of townsfolk became entranced by the wine coming around to each of them, which caused Maka’s green irises to glare sharply at those who watched the beverage pour into the cup a little longer than necessary.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“And if no one takes too much,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>there will always be enough.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>She will always fill our cups,”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“I will.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With a hushed promise, the praised goddess formed a tighter grip on her cup and ever so slightly nodded to herself in conviction.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“And we will always…raise them up.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Maka’s glass followed her eyes up to the sky. Still pale with no hints of swelling, summertime blue. But it was lighter than before. There was still light; there was still hope.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“To the world we dream about, </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>and… the one we live in now.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Feet stomped on the ground two times before Soul jumped into the circle and played another chord, a grin full of sharp teeth and pure joy on his face.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“'Cause right now we're livin' it!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“How are we livin' it?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The dancing and chanting continued once more, the pigtailed poet turning to her new partner with a surprised laugh. Especially while he was absolutely cheesing up his performance—or as he said himself;</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Livin’ it, Livin' it up!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh brother, right here we're livin' it!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Where are we livin' it?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Listen here, I'll tell you where!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>We're livin' it up on top!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Up on top!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Livin' it up and we ain't gonna stop</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Livin' it, livin' it—“</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Soon enough, Maka stood behind him with a bouncy shimmy, the two forming a little duet before everyone else sang along.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Livin' it, livin' it</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>How are we livin' it?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Where are we livin' it?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Livin' it, livin' it, </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Livin' it, livin' it</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Livin' it up on top!”</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><a id="note4-1" name="note4-1">1</a><br/>Song time!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qc_lZC55MI4&amp;list=PLcZhIiPR2E4UFVQ1tSFDpiPpd1V0v277M&amp;index=6[<a href="#return4-1">return to text</a>]</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. All I've Ever Known</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>As the months passed, Persephone helped the townspeople swing back into a schedule for planting and growing as many crops as they possibly could; who knew when she’d come back around?</p>
<p>The songwriting duo helped to plant during the morning and early afternoon; a way to get to know the town and its deities better (“For research,” as Maka liked to put it), and simply enjoy the nicer weather. When the day’s work was done, most of their evenings were spent working on their song. Finding as many texts that were still around, and interviewing Persephone, Hermes, Liz, and Patty often. There was plenty of research to do—mainly because Soul had no idea what Hades did:</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>“He’s the god of death, right?”</p>
<p>“God of the <em>dead</em>. There’s a difference! Hades doesn’t kill people—he just watches over those who have passed on. Makes sure nobody gets super rowdy, or anything.”</p>
<p>“I don’t know why they’d get rowdy… they’re dead.”</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>And Maka’s musical knowledge was limited at best:</p>
<p>“So far, the base rhythm we have is mainly ‘1-<em>2</em>-3-4, 1-<em>2</em>-3-4.’ Do you want to mainly keep it like that, or have some changes for more syncopation for some verses?”</p>
<p>“Synca-what?”</p>
<p>“Syncopation. When the notes arrive in an accent off the beat; We’ve already got plenty of it so far, but do you want to shift any parts of it?”</p>
<p>“...Do you mind showing me what you’re talking about?” “Ugh… alright.”</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Despite the lack of knowledge on both sides, the pair slowly found ways to move past petty arguments and actually teach one another (keep in mind though this was slowly; they still bickered like an old married couple quite a bit). There was much to learn, between the mythology, musical terms, and even the history described by their primary sources.</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Kilik gave them as much information as he possibly knew, but it was mostly on the past. How he used to help send back and forth letters between the two, often lurking nearby to know what they wrote to each other and keep tabs on their reactions. “He always tried to hide it whenever his dad was nearby, but once he could read her letters in peace he always had this massive, dorky smile plastered on his face. I’d be surprised if Patty didn’t take pictures of him.”</p>
<p>“What about Persephone?”</p>
<p>“Oh my gosh, that girl almost always turned tomato-red as soon as I even showed her an envelope. Somehow she never overheated.”</p>
<p>“Doesn’t everyone say that Demeter disapproved of the relationships immediately?”</p>
<p>“Well… she was suspicious as to who her daughter was always talking to, but as soon as she met him in person, I think she immediately went gung-ho for moves to be made. Not like anything provocative, but the two had barely <em>held hands</em> by the time she met Hades in person.”</p>
<p>Even when the whole seasonal arrangement first began, it took awhile to shift, but a rhythm was established and Underworld’s royalty did well conducting it. Yet slowly, Persephone would arrive at more scattered times, the winters seeming to grow longer, thus colder. Why? “I wish I knew as much as anyone. If anything, I guess there’s something rumbling Underground they’re trying to keep down there.”</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>“In case the shark boy didn’t know already, the Underworld’s primary attraction is mining.” Liz said, nodding at Soul’s nonplussed face for proof. “Well, we have other things too, but harvesting coal and oil and all that jazz became a huge source of business for like… decades? It started up when Hades’s old man ran things below.”</p>
<p>“You mean the dead do the mining?” Patty shrugged, placing out a hand with a so-so motion. “Well, Kinda! Most of the shades do the work, but a lot of people come down seeking jobs in the mines as well! Sis and I used to help guide—”</p>
<p>“The souls that were recently deceased!!” The elder blonde covered her sister’s mouth in brief panic. “Yeah, we showed them the closest ways down so they could pass on peacefully. But with the train now, most people do know how to get there, and we originally gave judgements for which railroad lines each person should take, but now… now they’re all going the same way.”</p>
<p>Patty tried to push Liz’s hands away from her face. “Mhm!! So now, we’re trying not to die of boredom ourselves, y’know? Figure out something else we can request to do…” Baby blue eyes grew wide and shone with an idea. “Liz! Liz! You think we could go with—”</p>
<p>“Not now, Patty. We can talk about all that later.” Liz knew exactly what her sister would ask; she asked the same question practically every day for the past week. If they did want to go, they’d have to come up with as many questions as possible for all the changes.</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>Asking Persephone almost anything about Hades and his kingdom proved to be the most difficult task. She would act completely fine for the most part, fondly recalling tales of him spending hours with her in the gardens simply talking about life. “He usually offered to help me with planting, but I think he got so self-conscious over his outfits getting dirty he ended up mostly doing the watering. But I really appreciated that! He got really particular about everything, but I take it as him holding an eye for detail.”</p>
<p>“Did you ever try to visit Hades in the Underworld yourself?”</p>
<p>“I wanted to go really really badly, but everytime I asked, he said I couldn’t go. At the time I thought it was because he was always so busy down there, or that he thought I wouldn’t be able to function because it was underground— which is ridiculous! Plants have to be underground in order to grow!” She exhaled a laugh to herself. “When I finally asked him a little before we got married, he said his father was always super protective of him; he worried any indication of me being there with a lack of sound reasoning wouldn’t end well.”</p>
<p>“What’s it like down there, anyways?”</p>
<p>The goddess pursed her lips in thought. “Dark, for one. Your eyes get used to it, and there are various lights such as lamps and candles, but nothing as bright as the sun. If you’re lucky, you can find little hints of gemstones like diamonds above, twinkling like stars from the glow of the other lights. There’s a nice scent of the earth mixed in with the smell of fire, which I oddly find comforting… but there are unpleasant burning smells too. Burning coal and gas— some people find those scents pleasing, but I’m not one of those people. I guess because they remind me too much of how things are now, I guess.” Yuri’s shoulders drooped and her face grew dejected. Still, she tries to smile once more with a small wave goodbye. “I really should be getting back to work, but I hope that helped you a bit.”</p>
<p> </p><hr/>
<p> </p>
<p>If you stare at your notes long enough, surely the information comes together; Soul figured that was the philosophy his partner followed. Maka flipped through her weary notebook continuously, her entire face scrunched up as though she could zoom in on what she wrote. He found it adorable for a few minutes, but she hadn’t moved from her spot on a musty, slightly stained couch for at least an hour… or however long it’s been since they got back home.</p>
<p>Home? The word felt foreign in his mind. For all of Maka’s talk about hating boys, she willingly let him stay with her in an old, fairly put-together shack meters away from the town. Well, she let him stay under the same roof as her; though the shack wasn’t that big, walls defining two rooms were already built into it and Maka practically shoved him into the vacant one.</p>
<p>Despite consistently being dim and dusty, it wasn’t so bad of a shelter. It probably could’ve been spruced up into a cottage if Fate were a little kinder to it. The girl living in it certainly tried to show it some kindness, at least. She built a wide plank of shelves, each third or so holding a variety of categorized items: bowls, cups, pots and pans, and other such tupperware nestled on the left; in the center were spare clothes, some blankets and sleeping bags, and a small cloth bag with hygienic supplies (“I’m not an animal! I shower and brush my teeth as often as I can!” she reasoned). On top of the shelf stood a small vase holding the red flower that grew from their song, the symbol and so-called evidence that their plan could work. A small table and some stumps acting as stools made for a semblance of a dining area accompanied the couch as the only other real furniture, save for the “kitchen” countertop already built into the wall.</p>
<p>Soul sighed as he pulled out two mugs from the left shelves, then a steel kettle, and pulled it to the sink. Thank the heavens a well was connected to their makeshift house, so water wasn’t too difficult to scavenge for. He filled the kettle as much as he could, then lifted it one arm on the handle, the other on the base. He shuffled outside to the small fire pit Maka established, but he didn’t realize a kettle full of water would be so freakin’ heavy.</p>
<p>Little grunts soon snapped Maka out of her <strike>spacing out </strike>analyzing her notes. She glanced up to see the tan musician struggling to keep the kettle in his hands from falling onto the floor. Made sense. Even with nothing on but pants and a tank top, the boy held little muscle.</p>
<p>“What are you doing?”</p>
<p>“Uh,” the boy blinked in surprise at her voice, embarrassed at how weak he probably looked. “I figured if you wouldn’t move until you had an epiphany, I could at least get you something so you don’t wither.”</p>
<p>“In other words…?”</p>
<p>“I was-I was gonna make some tea for you.” Soul mumbled.</p>
<p>Maka couldn’t help but giggle a little, setting her notes down and finally standing up. She walked over to the musician and took the kettle into her hands with much more ease carrying it. Now he wouldn’t stop staring.</p>
<p>“Field work is actually a really good work out, believe it or not,” she smirked before stepping out to the fire pit. “You mind getting a match?”</p>
<p>Soul made an “mhm” sound before scavenging through her backpack for the box. Once he found it, he carried the mugs by their handles in one hand and walked outside as well. Maka already sat on her knees pushing small twigs and leaves between the logs, so he shook the box and offered it to her.</p>
<p>“Do you not know how to light a match by now?”</p>
<p>“I do, but my hands are kinda full with porcelain!”</p>
<p>She sputtered a laugh. “You’re just worried about burning off your hands,” she teased as she took out a match and struck it against the side of the box. A tiny flame glowed in the dimming sunset, soon spreading its warm light to the small tinder in the pit. Eventually, a fire crackled under them, and Soul rested the kettle on an iron rod over the flames.</p>
<p>Now, the awkward silence of waiting.</p>
<p>“So…” he massaged a cramp in his neck. “Any progress from staring at your notes?”</p>
<p>“Not really,” Maka rolled her eyes, grabbing one of the mugs. “I was trying to figure out any connections between what Hermes, Persephone, and the Sisters all mentioned about Hades. They talk about him like he was this great guy but now… now he’s changed and they won’t say how.”</p>
<p>The lad gave her a slight smile. “Well, he sounds like someone who was really close to all of them. If he really changed that much, they’re probably finding it hard to deal with. Especially Persephone… that’s her husband you keep interrogating her about.” The pigtailed blonde exhaled through her nose. “I’m not interrogating her! But… you’re probably right. I might be prodding the subject too much. I guess it just bothers me how quiet they get when mentioning the present Underworld. It’s like something isn’t right down there.”</p>
<p>“It probably isn’t right down there as much as things aren’t right up here,” Soul reasoned. “But I don’t think drilling in for the answer does you any good. If anything, I think it makes you more deprived of any ideas you could have.”</p>
<p>“Oh, so that’s why you continuously play the same string of notes is supposed to be helping you come up with the song? That seems like drilling for the answer to me.”</p>
<p>“Looking for what makes a song click is different than forming a conspiracy over the king of the dead.”</p>
<p>“Are you sure?”</p>
<p>Soul smirked as he heard the kettle whistle. “Absolutely positive. While you analyze other people’s words, I’m not only trying to figure out how your words can fit into a melody, but also make sure the notes we sing sound good in cohesion.”</p>
<p>Maka raised her eyebrows, kettle in her hands. “That’s a big word for someone who forgot to grab actual tea leaves.” “Ah what--” Some incoherent stutters and head whipping around, and Soul gave a loud groan before standing up and trudging back to the shack. Though not before picking up a stick and placing it into the fire to light the candles inside.</p>
<p>He came back to hear her still laughing, though it was softer than when he scavenged inside for the herbs. Now, she snickered under her breath, hand helplessly hiding a wide grin.</p>
<p>Jagged teeth smiled wryly at her, though he still dropped the herbs in her mug. “Uh huh, you think you’re so funny.”</p>
<p>“You’re the funny one!” Maka’s giggles crescendoed to around a mezzo-forte. She poured the warm water into her cup before doing the same for her partner. “I didn’t take it you knew ‘cohesion’ was an actual word!”</p>
<p>“What? You thought I was illiterate, like how you thought I was a hobo?”</p>
<p>“Kinda!” She admitted through snickers again. “But the more I talk to you, the more I realize you’re actually really smart. In your own way.”</p>
<p>Soul felt his face warm up a little. Maybe that was just the steam from his tea. “My own way meaning the musical terms, yeah?” He clarified before gazing into the flames, eyes much more melancholic than before. “I kinda got those jammed into my brain ever since I was little; my family’s big on music, so it’s been a part of my life at an early age. It was fun at times, but really stressful at others.”</p>
<p>Maka readjusted herself to rest her face on her knee. “Is that why you’ve been running away?”</p>
<p>Huh. She got to him on the first try. He hesitantly nodded. “I don’t know what I want to do, but I know it’s not what they wanted for me. I needed to go out and see more of what I was capable of myself, but the weather’s been acting all funky and cities have become ghost towns…” Soul paused to sip his drink. “I’m kinda scared to know how they’re doing, but it haunts me that I leave it up in the air.”</p>
<p>The flames danced, their crackling noises acting like a conversation much like that between the two: suddenly deep, and with poignance in the air.</p>
<p>“I know how that feels.” Maka said.</p>
<p>“You do?”</p>
<p><a id="return4-1" name="return4-1"></a>“Mhm… before everything kinda spiraled, my parents were going through divorce and they tried to decide over who would take custody of me. They knew I was sick of the arguments, so they decided to give me the choice in the morning, but during a huge storm in the night, I guess…” She swallowed a lump in her throat. “Part of our house got hit, and I haven’t seen either of them since. I guess they left on the trains before I woke up the next day."<sup>[<a href="#note4-1">1</a>]</sup></p>
<p>Soul glanced back at her, seeing her green eyes getting misty. He scooted closer to her in an attempt for comfort. “That means you’ve needed to look out for yourself this whole time?”</p>
<p>She looked at the reflection in her mug. “Yep. Of course the town’s been really kind to me, but I’ve never… really had someone to talk to like this before. Opening up about our lives.” Maka rubbed her sleeve against her eyes before letting out a sigh.</p>
<p><a id="return1-1" name="return1-1"></a> It seemed both of these souls knew how the world was, yet still pressed forward to show how it could be. The poet stared back into the flames, unaware she was thinking aloud<sup>[<a href="#note4-2">2</a>]</sup>
.</p>
<p>
  <em>“I was alone so long,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I didn't even know that I was lonely.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Out in the cold so long,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I didn’t even know that I was cold.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Turned my collar to the wind;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>This is how it's always been...</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>All I've ever known is how to hold my own.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She took a sip of her tea before unknowingly reaching for Soul’s hand.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“All I’ve ever known is how to hold my own,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But now I wanna hold you, too.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Maka set down her mug and wrapped both of her arms around the one beside her, still entranced by the flames. Meanwhile, Soul’s heartbeat skipped several beats in between, and he cautiously looked down at her. Even at dusk, the girl seemed to glow with some inexplicable shine.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>You take me in your arms,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And suddenly, there's sunlight all around me.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Everything bright and warm,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And shining like it never did before.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And for a moment I forget...</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Just how dark and cold it gets.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“All I've ever known is how to hold my own.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She repeated her soft singing, before the musician set down his own mug and pulled her closer into him, continuing her words.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“All I've ever known is how to hold my own,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But now I wanna hold you--”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Now I wanna hold you, hold you close!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I don't wanna ever have to let you go.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Maka quickly wrapped her arms around his torso with a tight squeeze, her voice slightly cracking as it muffled into his tank top.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Now I wanna hold you, hold you tight!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I don't wanna go back to the lonely life.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Soul’s lips curled up in a weak smile as he cupped her face in his hands to get a better look at her. Sure enough, her cheeks already felt a little damp, and her eyes shone with tears falling down her face. Probably from all of her thoughts about her family. He looked up to the sky as the stars began to peek out from the darkness before looking back to her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“I don't know how or why,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Or who am I that I should get to hold you… </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But when I saw you all alone against the sky,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It's like I’d known you all along.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He softly laughed at himself. What he was about to say sounded ridiculous.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“I knew you before we met,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And I don’t even know you yet.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>All I know is you're someone I have always known,”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Surprisingly, Maka nestled her forehead against his, boosting his words into a duet.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“All I know is you’re someone I have always known,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And I don't even know you.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Now I wanna hold you, hold you close</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I don't wanna ever have to let you go.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Suddenly the sunlight,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Bright and warm…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Suddenly I'm holding the world in my arms.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Deep in both of their chests stirred some sense of rising air crackling with energy. They couldn’t quite tell what it was, but they didn’t fear it; it felt natural. A natural resonance between two lost souls that found one another.</p>
<p>The girl fell back onto his chest, looking up at him as he dried her tears with his fingers. She had to make a promise.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Say that you’ll hold me forever;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Say that the wind won't change on us;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Say that we'll stay with each other,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And it will always be like this.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Soul ignored his palpitating heart and simply cradled her, repeating the oath.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“I'm gonna hold you forever;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The wind will never change on us;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Long as we stay with each other,”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Then it will always be like this…”</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><a id="note4-1" name="note4-1">1</a> Did they die? Did they go for Hadestown? Did they go their separate ways? Who knows! Up to you, dear reader. [<a href="#return4-1">return to text</a>]</p>
<p><a id="note4-2" name="note4-2">2</a> Song starts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5A__1-QK4w&amp;list=PLcZhIiPR2E4UFVQ1tSFDpiPpd1V0v277M&amp;index=8 [<a href="#return4-1">return to text</a>]</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Way Down Hadestown</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was another warm, bright day as crops were tended to by the townsfolk and deities above; many of them were ripening right on schedule, and some already began to be harvested! Only a little longer, and the local food supply could finally be replenished!</p>
<p>Once the watering and gathering for the afternoon completed, Persephone called it a wrap, allowing everyone to go home for the evening.</p>
<p>“Maka, Soul, would you two like to stay for a little longer?”</p>
<p>Soul squinted at the tiny goddess. Please don’t let it be more field work. Even with “getting used to it,” his back was aching over carrying so much wheat. He managed the best, exhausted half-smile he could. “Well, actually I think we were going to—”</p>
<p>“No, not at all! Is there something you want us to do?” Maka interrupted before her partner could come up with some lame excuse. Not just because denying the offer of a goddess was extremely rude, but maybe this could allow for more research before they got back to work!</p>
<p>“Well, not really to do, but I’d love it if you’d like to come have some lunch with me, Hermes, Liz and Patty!” Perse lifted up a smaller picnic basket. “Think of it as a way for me to say thank you for putting in so much effort.”</p>
<p>Thus, the afternoon was taken up with a small picnic, full of pleasant chatter between the deities and two songwriters. Warm, humid air kissed the skin, but it was welcomed despite the extra moisture; after all, it was better than the dry winds that arrived with the coming of winter. Alas, like always, winter was coming early this year once more.</p>
<p><a id="return6-1" name="return6-1"></a> Hermes had looked on the horizon as the others chattered and laughed away, squinting at a small, black figure that was blurry even with his glasses on. A moment later, an all too familiar train whistle made its appearance loud and clear, causing everyone to stop their conversations and follow Kilik’s staring as he stood up against a tree. In a low voice, he turned to Persephone,<sup>[<a href="#note6-1">1</a>]</sup></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“On the Road to Hell there was a railroad track...”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>No other words needed to be said; Persephone saw the little black dot in the distance inching along, knowing quite well what it was. Her shoulders dropped with an audible groan of frustration.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Oh, come on!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“There was a train comin' up from way down below—”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>As Hermes continued his statement, Liz squinted at the speck far away, then down at her hands in an attempt to count with her fingers. There wasn’t really any way to tell how long time passed above, or what month it was—but this was a short time for him to be coming to pick her up already.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>That was not six months!”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Better go and get your suitcase packed; guess it's time to go~”</em></p>
<p> </p>
<p>A chilled wind blew across the field, three sisters’ voices passing by Yuri’s neck. There wasn’t much else she could do—Persephone sighed, walking off to find where she last put her bag.</p>
<p>“Oh no…” Maka felt her heart drop as she witnessed the plans set in motion; tension in the air became more palpable by the second— just like always before <em>he</em> showed up. “She’s leaving again.”</p>
<p>Soul grew wide-eyed, watching Persephone walking away. “Wait, leave as in Persephone’s gotta go for the winter? We just had practically winter for God knows how long! Where would she even go?”</p>
<p>Hermes clicked his tongue, motioning the two to stand up and see for themselves. They did, immediately catching the little black train that was slowly inching closer, it’s dense, gray steam flowing behind it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“She's gonna ride that train 'til the end of the line</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>'Cause the King of the Mine is coming to call…”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He turned to Soul and Maka, a much more intimidating look on his face. He asked a simple, luring question:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Did you ever wonder what it's like </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>on the underside?</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Way down under—”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Liz and Patty finally turned from looking at the train, singing in a hushed tone.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“On the yonder side?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Way down yonder—”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“On the other side of his wall?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>From supposedly nowhere, a black parasol appeared in Kilik’s hands, pointing far far out a mounded hill thousands of miles away. The songwriting duo both squinted at the hill, taking a moment to notice the pitch black hole in the middle of it wasn’t just a hole—but a tunnel.</p>
<p>Liz adjusted the brim of her hat, suddenly pulling out a small, gold coin and pointing at the tunnel with it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Follow that dollar for a long way down,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Far away from the poorhouse door—</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>You either get to hell or to Hadestown,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Ain’t no difference anymore!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Way down, Hadestown!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Way down under the ground!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“Hadestown?” Soul asked; it was the first time he heard of the name.</p>
<p>Patty nodded, though she gained a more ominous gleam in her eyes. “Also known as the City of Death,” she hummed, before stomping her feet in rhythm.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Hound dog howl and the whistle blow;</em></p>
<p>
  <em>Train come a-rollin, clickety-clack</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Everybody tryin' to get a ticket to go!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But those who go, </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>they don’t come back!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>They goin'—“</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Way down, Hadestown!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Way down under the ground!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>All three of them added into the next chorus, with an undertone of various other voices as well. Hermes opened his black parasol, leading the five back into town. Soul turned to Maka with utter dumbfoundedness plastered on his face, but the girl only inhaled a sharp hiss.</p>
<p>As they made their way back, the black parasol signaled that Persephone was going away. Fates and other townsfolk soon jovially sauntered, forming a clump and oddly playing instruments as well.</p>
<p>Soon enough, the goddess they were waiting for reappeared, bag in her hands. Her eyebrows furrowed in frustration and slight melancholy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Winter's nigh and summer's o'er.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Hear that high, lonesome sound</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Of my husband coming for,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>To bring me home to Hadestown.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A look back, and a roll of the shoulder, Perse ruffled her skirt as the chorus picked up once more.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Way down, Hadestown!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Way down under the ground!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The goddess ran her hand through her hair with an exasperated slight curl of a smile.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Down there, it's a bunch of stiffs’</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Brother, I'll be bored to death.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Gonna have to import some stuff,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Just to entertain myself:</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Give me morphine in a tin,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Give me a crate of the fruit of the vine,”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She placed her hands out as a small, tin flask was placed in her hands. Once she dropped it in her back, a massive crate of grapes dropped into her arms, almost bringing her down with it—she was able to stand up nonetheless, Liz holding her bag wider to drop the box in. When it somehow fit into the vast, vast space in that woven bag, Persephone held it back in her hands, glancing at the train chugging along a little further now.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Takes a lot of medicine</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>To make it through the wintertime—“</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Way down, Hadestown!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Way down under the ground”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Three women looking different but dressing the same took to the floor and played their own viola, accordion, and mandolin.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Every little penny in the wishing well!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Every little nickel on the drum~”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>”On the drum!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“All them shiny little heads and tails,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Where do you think they come from?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>They come from—“</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Way down, Hadestown!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Way down under the ground!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Maybe it was the Fates’ alluring harmonies that compelled the others to join in, beginning to chatter about the idea of money being down below. Hermes jumped onto a spare crate, proclaiming the harsh truths about how that money gets made.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“<em>Everybody hungry!</em></p>
<p>
  <em>Everybody tired!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Everybody slaves by the sweat of his brow!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“The wage is nothing and the work is hard;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It's a graveyard in Hadestown!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Maka joined him, glaring at the three women who were provoking everyone. Nonetheless, the chorus continued their chanting.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Way down, Hadestown!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Way down under the ground!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>With everything set to go, the townsfolk made their parade through the center of town, Hermes leading with his parasol, Liz, Patty, and Persephone right behind him. Maka kept close to the front, Soul struggling to catch up with her until he caught her hand. He gazed at her with concern. Why are her eyes so bitter now? The poet sighed, proclaiming the main reason she was so angry:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Mr. Hades is a mean old boss!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“With a silver whistle and a golden scale—"</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Liz continued the next verse, she and her sister facing each other, hands behind their backs.</p>
<p>The crowd soon shouted,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“An eye for an eye!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“And he weighs the cost,”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hermes imitated the King’s poised, judging pose.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“A lie for a lie!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“And your soul for sale—”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The sisters shook hands, one each still behind their backs with fingers crossed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Sold!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“To the king on the chromium throne.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Thrown!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“To the bottom of a Sing Sing cell—”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Yuri looked wistfully at the train coming by, clutching the handles of her bag in conflicted anticipation.</p>
<p>Patty turned into the crowd with a gritty tone of voice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Where the little wheel squeals and the big wheel groans,”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“And you better forget about your wishing well—”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Liz side-eyed the Fates with her remark (who simply raised an eyebrow, scoffed, and/or rolled their eyes), before turning around to sing the chorus again.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Way down, Hadestown!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Way down under the ground!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p><em> Whoooo! Whooo! </em>The whistle crescendoed as the large, black train pulled into the station with a tired, slow puff.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>On the Road to Hell, there was a railroad car,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And the car door opened and a man stepped out.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Everybody looked and everybody saw;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It was the same man they'd been singin' about.</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The figure on the edge of the train car’s entrance was covered head to toe in black— save for the three white stripes in his hair that looped around his head, and a polished, skull-shaped silver brooch nestled over a white, frilled collar. Some sort of long, black trench coat-cloak trailed behind him on the train’s floor. Despite standing around the average height and not being the looming mountain Soul expected him to be, on top of the massive train (and probably even without that boost), Hades was still every bit intimidating that one would expect the “King of the Underworld” to be.</p>
<p>Persephone took a step towards the train and looked up at the man’s deathly pale, sunglasses-covered face. With a tight inhale, a soft, acidic tone grew in the usually bubbly woman’s voice.</p>
<p>
  <em>“You're early.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hold on, was he-was he smiling?! His mouth could hardly be seen, practically covered by some sort of black squiggles or stubble (it was hard to tell from a distance), but Maka could’ve <em>sworn</em> she saw his lip curl up! Regardless, Hades lowered his shades as he made eye contact with his wife, golden eyes glowing even in the bright sunlight, catching most in the station off guard. All he said in response to Persephone’s statement was three words:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“I missed you.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If he was trying to be romantic… now really wasn’t the right time, and it didn’t bring the reaction he wanted. Persephone clenched her bag tighter, pressing her lips together. Liz and Patty simply stared at the man, unsure what to say.</p>
<p>The eldest Fate stated the obvious, her sisters following:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Mr. Hades is a mighty king.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Must be making some mighty big deals;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Seems like he owns everything”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Kind of makes you wonder how it feels”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Soul hummed under his breath, causing Maka to look at him anxiously. He shook his head. He simply thought aloud, that was all. Not like he’d actually go down there.</p>
<p>Hades turned to the sisters that stepped closer to him. “Liz. Patty.” He nodded to each of them, but other than that, he had little to no reaction.</p>
<p>Patty hadn’t noticed the apathy quite yet, giving a little salute with two fingers. “Heya!!”</p>
<p>“Hope you don’t mind some tag-alongs,” Liz placed an arm in front of Persephone, popping her hip to add intimidation. The Queen and King of the Underworld stared at her for a moment, both confused by what she meant.</p>
<p>“What?”</p>
<p>“We’re going with you, silly!” Before anyone could object, Patty jumped onto the train car, grabbing the intercom from Hades and shouted into it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“All abooooard!!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She stomped her feet for one last chorus.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“A-one, A-two, A-one, two, three, four!” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Way down Hadestown!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Way down under the ground!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Way down Hadestown!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Way down under the ground!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Once more, an uproar of music acted as a farewell to the three women stepping onto the train. Liz lowered her arm and glanced over her shoulder at the queen before stepping in with her sister. She kept eyeing the cold, dismissive look hidden by Kid’s sunglasses; he rarely had that look before, especially to his own family.</p>
<p>Persephone then got on herself, looking at her husband, inhaling to say something, before shaking her head and sliding into a booth far from the car doors. With the train’s new passengers picked up, the doors soon closed with a sputtering hiss. Hades turned on his heel, not even batting an eye at those left behind in the station.</p>
<p>Many of the townspeople placed hands and hats over their hearts as the train whistled once more, slowly chugging and picking up speed as it got further away from the crowd. Kilik clicked his tongue as he put on the silver jacket in his arms. It really wasn’t his business, but he knew damn well that there was something off about Yuri bouncing around from above and below so often; the look Kid gave— he hardly looked like he was breathing! Now, something was off and there was a high suspicion that something was the King himself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Way down under the ground!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Way down under the ground!</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><a id="note6-1" name="note6-1">1</a> Here it is! The “title number” if you will! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJIc3RtJK7U&amp;list=PLcZhIiPR2E4UFVQ1tSFDpiPpd1V0v277M&amp;index=9 [<a href="#return6-1">return to text</a>]</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. A Gathering Storm</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>We start back in with a song again!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHYhu0zBEhQ&amp;list=PLcZhIiPR2E4UFVQ1tSFDpiPpd1V0v277M&amp;index=10</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>With Persephone gone, the cold came on.</em>
</p>
<p>Wind blowing by dropped in temperature almost instantly, the grass shriveling up as the train pulled Persephone further and further away from the town. The townspeople sauntered back, hoping to start gathering whatever crops they could harvest before everything truly did begin to die. Easily, discomfort and anxiety rushed into the air as well, making everything feel tense, as if the situation wasn’t already. </p>
<p>Soul stood there, slowly putting on his coat as he watched the train chugging along into the distance. Something wasn’t right-- well, it never did feel right as soon as that black train pulled in and Hades showed himself. As much as it was stating the obvious, the musician uttered the realization aloud: </p>
<p>
  <em>“He came too soon...</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He came for her too soon!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It's not supposed to be like this,”</em>
</p>
<p>“Is it?” He turned to Maka for reassurance; she knew more about how the gods worked than he did.</p>
<p>
  <em>“Well,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>'Til someone brings the world back into tune...</em>
</p>
<p><em>This is how it is.</em>”</p>
<p>	She hissed an exhale of disgust at the train, clenching the fist with the flower still in her hands. Of course, she doesn’t want it to be like this— nobody wants it to be like this. That’s why she was so dead-set on fixing it in the first place. Looking back up at the pale sky, she noticed it rapidly growing darker, clouds rolling in and rumbling. She quickly turned on her heel, motioning Soul to follow. They had a gift they had to give. </p>
<p>	Though Soul caught her by the wrist before she could speed-walk any further. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Hey, where are you going?”</em>
</p>
<p>	She moved to pull her arm back, but let it stay in his hand, looking over her shoulder with absolute resolve. </p>
<p>
  <em>“We have to finish the song,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And we have to finish it quick.”</em>
</p>
<p>Maka pulled Soul’s arm up to the sky so he would see the thick, dark storm clouds brewing. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“The wind is changing;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>There's a storm coming on.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Wind comes up, ooh</em>
</p>
<p>	As almost always with this pair, the Fates lurked in the station; maybe that’s why the wind chilled even further. </p>
<p>	Soul kept looking at the stormy clouds and back at the train that was almost vanishing from view. If Persephone really is a nature goddess, that storm definitely isn’t a coincidence. He readjusted his hand to intertwine with his poet’s, hoping to provide a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, with six or so months cooped up in your place, I’m sure we can get it knocked out.”</p>
<p>	Cooped up in her… “Ah shoot! We can’t get to work immediately!” Maka shook her head violently with a frustrated grunt.</p>
<p>
  <em>“We need food!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>We need firewood…”</em>
</p>
<p>	“Ok, I’ll go with you and we can go find it—”</p>
<p>	“No, the song still has to happen as soon as possible.” She interrupted him, hand on the bridge of her nose as she formed a plan out of adrenaline. “You go back and start figuring out more of the melody. My notes are right where we left them last night, so you can go over them without me.” </p>
<p>	“Wait, Maka—”</p>
<p>	Before he could say anymore, she bolted for the fields, once more left alone again in the cold. Yes, it was for both of their interests; yes, they did need to find food and firewood to even survive the winter and continue on the song. Yet, watching her leave gave Soul a sudden pang to his chest. Did she think she had to provide for both of them? Or that he wasn’t reliable with anything other than stupid music? He clenched his jaw, letting it and all the negative thoughts go. They’re not needed right now; Maka knows what she’s doing. Probably better to follow her orders than stand around and worry. </p>
<p>	Thus, the songwriting duo had separated their paths under a gathering storm, oblivious to how far off their roads would split. </p>
<p>	Meanwhile, the black train chugged along smoothly, engine softly rumbling as it’s supposed to. Hades exited the engine room back into the main car line, where he was blocked from sitting down thanks to Patty leaning in front of him. </p>
<p>	“Heya, Kiddo! It’s been awhile, hasn’t it!” She attempted to pull him into a hug, but the god quickly stepped back with his arms out to push her away further if necessary. Patty only stepped closer, cheeks puffed up in a pout. “Heeeey, don’t shy away from me now! I haven’t seen ya in such a long time—” She paused, pointing at five thin, black lines drawn vertically on his lips, down to his chin. Those weren’t there before. “Did you get into makeup since we’ve been gone?”</p>
<p>	Kid squinted at the blonde as she smeared her finger on his chin—the lines didn’t rub off like she expected. “What are you talking about?” He rolled his eyes in foreseeing a nonsensical answer. “Would you please move? I’d like to have a seat—"</p>
<p>“Not until you tell me what those lines on your face are all about!” Patty placed both arms in between one of the train booths on each side.</p>
<p>“I don’t have any lines on my face!”</p>
<p>“Have you looked in a mirror? They’re right there! If it’s not makeup, then what is it?” </p>
<p>Liz exhaled an attempt of a laugh before sliding into the seat beside Persephone, who looked out the window. Outside, leaves rapidly changed color and fell off the trees, the grass below slowly drying up its green color. “Hey,” she tapped the brunette’s shoulder to get her attention. “You doing ok?” </p>
<p>Yuri blinked, coming back from her melancholy daze and noticing Liz sitting next to her. “Oh! Yeah—well, not really…” she sighed, resting her head under her arms. “There’s a lot of different emotions I’m feeling right now.”</p>
<p>“That’s understandable,” Liz cracked a small smile, patting the goddess’s back while she watched her sister pester Hades about those odd lines on his face. She’s gone from permanent marker, to some creepy beard, to oil stains, to coal on his face—though knowing him he’d drop dead as soon as he felt any of that swipe near him, let alone see it in a mirror. </p>
<p>All the same, as her sister interrogated him, he kept the same irritated, unamused expression. That’s what got under Liz’s skin the most. </p>
<p>“Does he always look that done with everything?” She nudged Perse, who had drifted back to looking out the window.</p>
<p>Once the goddess saw Liz pointing to the two up front, she pursed her lips. “No, not always, but he does look like that when most people talk to him now,” Yuri admitted. “I don’t know what’s causing him to look so unhappy, or why he has lines on his face now, if you’re wondering.” </p>
<p>The blonde took off her hat for a moment, moving sandy-colored strands out of her face. “I don’t think that’s just him being unhappy. It’s almost like he’s—I don’t know, possessed? Or looking down on everyone like he’s so much better,” Liz muttered the last bit into her hat before sliding it back on her head. </p>
<p>	Persephone could still hear that last remark, though. As much as she hated to admit it, Liz was right; he did look possessed, or that he found himself an entirely new worldview that slipped right under her nose. </p>
<p>“Now, if you’re done with your nonsense, I’m taking a seat” There was only so much of Patty’s rambling that Kid could take; he sighed, ducking under the blonde’s arms towards the booth the other two sat in. </p>
<p>Patty turned around with furrowed eyebrows and a massive pout. “Well nice to see you too, then!” She huffed, crossing her arms and sliding into the opposite seat from her sister before Hades could sit there first. </p>
<p>Whatever game she was trying to set up, Kid didn’t want to play it. He took in a breath to say something, but let it out in a long exhale before sitting down beside her himself. When he sat, the sisters couldn’t help but notice something about his posture; it was always proper, sitting upright and shoulders aligned like so, but now there was more… stiffness to it. Like he was somehow literally sitting in a 90 degree angle. Even looking at him too long felt unnatural. Regardless, he folded his hands together, eyes narrowing at Liz, then Patty.</p>
<p>“So, what brings you two wanting to come back down?”</p>
<p>“What do you think?” Liz crossed her arms on the table. “We haven’t heard from you in a good while. Not to mention Perse’s coming back earlier and earlier than you originally agreed to. If there’s a problem, why haven’t you said anything?” </p>
<p>Hades raised an eyebrow, clicking his tongue. “There aren’t any problems. Business below is going along swimmingly as usual.”</p>
<p>“That doesn’t explain why you’re picking Yuri up so early!” Patty reiterated. “You’re not even letting her have Spring come around!” </p>
<p>At the mention of her name, the brunette blinked and turned to see her husband sitting diagonally across from her. His lips curled up in an oddly cold smile. “Well, I simply miss her, is all. It gets lonely down there all by myself.” Hades reached one of his hands on top of Persephone’s, who didn’t know whether to take her other hand and hold his as tight as she could, or to back away. So she sat there, looking at his calloused hand with the skull ring on his middle finger. </p>
<p>“Kid, they have a point, you know.” She readjusted her hand so her thumb could pet his index finger. “Have things really been doing ok in Hadestown?” </p>
<p>Golden eyes slowly blinked, almost as though he really had to think it through. Of course, he shook his head all the same. “Everything is just fine, my little petal. What about you? How were things up above?”</p>
<p>Yuri sat up a little straighter, a slight smile showing itself. “It was actually really nice! I was able to meet back up with the townspeople, and I also met some newcomers! Crops were planted and growing well—” she paused, her shoulders drooping. “They were growing well before you showed up again.”</p>
<p>Hades squeezed his wife’s hand a little tighter. “Well, I’m glad you were still able to enjoy yourself. That may have been the last time you went back to the surface.”</p>
<p>Only someone who’s gone utterly mad would say something like that and not expect a massive reaction from everyone else around him. Liz squinted at him with a scowl of pure resentment; Patty kept a similar expression, but was much more revulsed. Persephone looked at her hand for a moment before slowly staring dead-on at him. “What?” </p>
<p>“That may have been the last time you went back to the surface,” Kid repeated.</p>
<p>“No, no, we heard that last part.” Liz shook her hand in his face. “Why the hell would that be the last time?”</p>
<p>“I’m needing her for a specific project I’m working on.” </p>
<p>Liz’s scowl grew. “There are other ways you could’ve told her you wanted her help besides just forcing her to be picked up!” </p>
<p>“Well, yes. But in order for the plan to go successfully, she needs to come with me now.” Hades exhaled a chuckle as though the answer was obvious, despite each response he gave being vaguer than the last. </p>
<p>Yuri tried to settle the elder sister back in her seat. “Liz, I can talk to him about this myself,” she reassured before turning back to Kid with furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips. “What even is the project? You’ve never told me anything about it.”</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, Petal. You’ll know what it is soon enough—”</p>
<p>“I want to know <em>now</em>, Kid.” The soft acid oozed back into her voice through clenched teeth. “I’m tired of you keeping all of these secrets from me.” </p>
<p>Patty nodded, leaning on the table with a dark glare in her baby-blue eyes. “You’re keeping secrets from all of us! And ya still haven’t explained what’s happened to the whole ‘she stays 6 months up and then 6 months down’ deal? It split the year evenly, didn’t it?!”</p>
<p>“It did… but letting her stay up there for 4 months, then me having her for 8 just sounds much better, doesn’t it? You know how much I love the number, 8.” His lips curled up in another cold smile at the bob-haired blonde, who growled and began to crack her knuckles. </p>
<p>“You and I both know that didn’t explain jack shi—” Her fists were caught by his deathly pale hand and pushed down into her lap. Hades glanced at her unamused once more. </p>
<p>“And you and I both know trying to beat me up will only embarrass both of us, won’t it?” He brushed off Patty’s continued growling only to notice Liz clenching her own jaw.</p>
<p>“What the hell, Kid?! What’s gotten into you, all of a sudden?” She threw her arms up at him. Differences weren’t always a bad thing, but this new bitter and ominous demeanor; that’s not the Kid they’d come to know for so long. That’s not the Kid Yuri loved so much.  “You’re actually starting to make me worry a lot more than I already was before hopping on this stupid train.” </p>
<p>Hades cocked an eyebrow. “Why would you be worried?”</p>
<p>Liz made a sound of mixed scoffing and laughing. “Gee, I don’t know, you coming off much creepier than before? That you’re so vague with whatever you talk about—”
	Persephone pushed on the blonde’s arm, leaning in with crinkled eyebrows, and lips desperately keeping whatever words she wanted to stay in her mouth. She knew from experience pointing out how much he changed wouldn’t change anything. He would only stare at them with the same, bitterly blank stare. What could they do instead? If only she knew. </p>
<p><a id="return7-1" name="return7-1"></a>Soul rolled his shoulder as he picked up the lyre off the floor. He adjusted the tuning, and strummed the same chord he started with, looking over Maka’s notes on what it was even like Underground.<sup>[<a href="#note7-1">1</a>]</sup>
 </p>
<p>
  <em>“King of silver,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>King of gold,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And everything glittering</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Under the ground…”</em>
</p>
<p>He stopped, processing the words he sang, then jotted them down on spare note paper. It was probably on the other side of something else the two wrote and would make their work a little more cluttered, but it didn’t really matter. Not now, at least. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Hades is king</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Of oil and coal,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And the riches that flow</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Where those rivers are found.”</em>
</p>
<p>Something kept eating at him ever since he saw the royal couple on the train. So many complicated emotions could easily be felt simply observing Persephone whenever her husband was mentioned or arrived in person. Hades and his own twisted inner conflicts were bound to be present too, weren’t they? Why else would he feel the need to pick her up so early? </p>
<p>
  <em>“But for half of the year </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>with Persephone gone,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>His loneliness moves in him </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>crude and black;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He thinks of his wife </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>in the arms of the sun…”</em>
</p>
<p>Jealous of sunlight? Yeah, out loud it sounded dumb, but it somehow still made sense. Sunlight provided warmth. Loving, bright warmth that was definitely impossible to provide in the underworld. His voice crescendoed as he pictured that black and white man sitting alone, even more devoid of warmth without her there. </p>
<p>
  <em>“And jealousy fuels him, </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>and feeds him, and fills him,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>With doubt that she'll never come,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Dread that she'll never come,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Doubt that his lover…</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Will ever come back.” </em>
</p>
<p>Maka would’ve hiked to the fields with more haste if the grass and rocks didn’t look so dry as she gazed at them. Yet another glimmer of hope faded away because someone was desperate for their wife to come back to him. He was clingy. Practically possessive. There were more important things to worry about, but she couldn’t help it. The king of the mines and how he behaved sickened her to the core. Even if there was a benefit of the doubt… what would that even be? What did Hades even work on so much down below? Maka’s steps dug harder into the drying dirt as she browsed her memory for any mention of his project; soon enough, she remembered something regarding a wall. Given how Hadestown’s labor carried itself out, it wasn’t too difficult to imagine what happened down there. </p>
<p>
  <em>“King of mortar,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>King of bricks,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The River Styx is a river of stones,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And Hades lays them high and thick</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>With a million hands that are not his own.”</em>
</p>
<p>	Her pace quickened as the fields and the crowd hastily gathering whatever they could came into view. Nonetheless, Maka’s thoughts grew louder, the sounds of rock and metal broken apart and bent into new shapes competed for her attention. </p>
<p>
  <em>“With a million hands, he builds a wall,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Around all the riches he digs from the Earth.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The pickaxe flashes.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The hammer falls.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And crashing and pounding,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>As rivers surround him,”</em>
</p>
<p>	She skidded down behind the crowd, breathing a little heavier and looking at the ground in her next realization. </p>
<p>
  <em>“And drown out the sound of the song he once heard:</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>La la la la la la la…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“La la la la la la la...</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>La la la la la la la...</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>La la la la la la…”</em>
</p>
<p>	Only a few miles away, Soul finished the chorus himself, now improvising for new melodies that could swell and further tell the story. Unbeknownst to him, Hermes stayed nearby, leaning on the doorway and picking up on the slight melancholy in the musician’s voice. Below, the train soon pulled into the Hadestown station, low grunts and chimes of tools hitting stone not too far away. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><a id="note7-1" name="note7-1">1</a> Epic II starts here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VVB2WWohM0&amp;list=PLcZhIiPR2E4UFVQ1tSFDpiPpd1V0v277M&amp;index=11 <sup>[<a href="#return7-1">return to text</a>]</sup></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chant</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>One of the biggest bops of the musical, also one of the most heart wrenching songs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bheXkre0yM&amp;list=PLcZhIiPR2E4UFVQ1tSFDpiPpd1V0v277M&amp;index=12</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The City of Death: Civilization based on spirits, souls, and the man watching over it all. As to be expected of a city underground, dirt composed the sky as small light bulbs flickered, pretending to be stars. Yet their “starlight” helped next to nothing to see anything on the walkway down into the city; steam, smoke, and smog blurred together adding another layer that caused any view of the city to come off hazy. All around them, far off set against a massive wall were drab figures of people. People dressed only in dark overalls over bandaged binding over their chests; it was impossible to tell which of them were male or female. On their heads were mining helmets with bright lights in the middle, but they only shone at the ground as their necks craned looking down. They swung pickaxes and hammers into stone, placed those stones and bricks on top of each other, all in a robotic, synchronized rhythm. </p>
<p>	Liz and Patty stepped off the train, finding the sight of the town to be familiar, yet jarringly different at the same time. Hades left the car next, holding his arm out for his wife. She hesitantly wrapped her arm around his while clutching her bag tightly in her other hand. The King lead them out of the station, and the lack of conversation amongst the travellers was made up for by the continuous chanting of the miners and builders around them. </p>
<p>
  <em> “Low, keep your head, keep your head low [cck!]</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh, you gotta keep your head low [cck!]</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>If you wanna keep your head [Huh! cck!]</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh, you gotta keep your head low</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Keep your head, keep your head low [cck!]</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh, you gotta keep your head low [cck!]</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>If you wanna keep your head [Huh! cck!]</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh, you gotta keep your head--”</em>
</p>
<p>	The first thing Patty came to terms with this altered Death City wasn’t the soulless chanting of workers. Mining never was deemed a happy job, after all. What struck her odd first was how hot the air had become. Muggy humidity stuck to her skin and the shirt and jumpsuit that in turn stuck to her skin. She tugged the collar of her shirt, but that wasn’t enough, so she took off her hat and fanned herself with it. All while whining, of course. </p>
<p>
  <em>“In the coldest time of year,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Why is it so hot down here?!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Hotter than a crucible...</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It ain't right and it ain't natural.”</em>
</p>
<p>	Yuri glanced back at the blonde in agreement, before Hades rolled his shoulder to gain her attention.  </p>
<p>
  <em>“Lover, you were gone so long;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Lover, I was lonesome.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>So, I built a foundry</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>In the ground beneath your feet.”</em>
</p>
<p>As though his wife nor his assistants didn’t already know, he stretched his hand out to display the various factories and mining machinery up ahead. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Here, I fashioned things of steel:</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Oil drums and automobiles,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Then I kept that furnace fed</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>With the fossils of the dead.”</em>
</p>
<p>	Kid turned back down to his petite Queen, holding her arm just a little tighter.</p>
<p>
  <em>"Lover, when you feel that fire,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Think of it as my desire.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Think of it as my desire for you!”</em>
</p>
<p>Though, as he tried to brush a strand of hair from her face, Persephone placed a hand up to stop him. </p>
<p>Up above, the storm rattled and raged onwards, Soul continuing to experiment with an alternative bridge for the song. He was so caught up in his “la-la-laaaa”s that he never noticed Hermes listening in, nor Maka running up to the shed. There were so many people around the fields that she’d simply be wasting time if she stood there squished amongst all the others in the storm! At the very least, she should find other ways to be productive before the true winter hit.  </p>
<p>	She was surprised to see the winged god staying by, but didn’t think of it. After panting, she hastily asked, </p>
<p>
  <em>“Is it finished?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Not yet.”</em>
</p>
<p>	Kilik glanced to the weary platinum-blonde girl, clicking his tongue. From how Soul kept singing, it didn’t sound like he was going to be finished and satisfied with what he was doing for a long while. </p>
<p>	She really didn’t want to groan. She really didn’t. But Maka let it out anyways in her frustration, recalling how long these melody brainstorming sessions lasted. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Is he always like this?”</em>
</p>
<p>	The pigtailed poet sighed, turning away and running into the barren forest, picking up whatever logs and branches she could find and carry in her barely toned arms. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Looking high and looking low,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>For the food and firewood I know</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>We need to find, and I am</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Keeping one eye on the sky, and</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Tryin' to trust that the song we’re working on is gonna</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Shelter us </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>From the wind, the wind, the wind.”</em>
</p>
<p>	Thunder rumbled above, receiving a sharp look upwards before Maka turned on her heel and jogged back to her shed. Unbeknownst to her, three women lurked behind the naked trees, yet still blended in thanks to the dark skies above. Things were beginning to unravel and become hectic, just as they predicted. </p>
<p>	They were finally within the city now, which was fully decorated in all sorts of neon lights and signs that flickered with the illusion of moving limbs and flashing letters. Normally, such lights would be seen as alluring, but with so many clustered together all shining so brightly, Liz found the whole town’s display blindingly nauseating. She took off her hat to cover her eyes, and even then she still had to squint at Kid. </p>
<p>
  <em>“In the darkest time of year,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Why is it so bright down here?!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Brighter than a carnival,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It ain't right and it ain't natural!”</em>
</p>
<p>	Persephone too squinted while shielding herself from the jarring bright lights, which created a background allowing Hades to look all the more a black shadow with various colors set upon his face. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Lover, you were gone so long,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Lover, I was lonesome.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>So, I laid a power grid,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>In the ground on which you stood.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And wasn't it electrifying?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>When I made the neon shine!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Silver screen, cathode ray,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Brighter than the light of day.”</em>
</p>
<p>	His arms stretched out at his beloved creation, fists clenched grabbing hold of whatever success he felt as tight as he could. Kid then spun on his heel and cupped Yuri’s chin in one of his hands. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Lover, when you see that glare,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Think of it as my despair.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Think of it as my despair for you!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“They can't find the tune.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Soul.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“They can't feel the rhythm,”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Soul!” </em>
</p>
<p>Despite all her efforts yelling at him as loud as she could, Maka couldn’t get his attention each time she came around with more firewood. Thus, Kilik took it upon himself to snap him out of the zone while his partner ran back to harvest anything she possibly could. Yet even the calls of a god weren’t snapping Soul back into reality. </p>
<p>
  <em>“King Hades is deafened </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>by a river of stone,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And Lady Persephone's blinded </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>by a river of wine,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Livin' in an oblivion.”</em>
</p>
<p>That poor, poor boy working on the song; so absorbed in analyzing others’ dissonance, he couldn’t see his own harmony slipping with another, less forget the storm rattling on. </p>
<p>
  <em>“His black gold flows</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>In the world down below,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And her dark clouds roll in the one up above.” </em>
</p>
<p>	Hermes shouted at him once more. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Look up!”</em>
</p>
<p>It didn’t work. Well, partially. Soul did look up, but only at the furious winds shaking the bare trees ahead of him. He exhaled in a growing epiphany. </p>
<p>
  <em>“And that is the reason we're on this road,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And the seasons are wrong,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And the wind is so strong;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>That's why times are so hard!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It's because of the gods!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The gods have forgotten the song of their love!”</em>
</p>
<p>	He repeated that melody once more as Kilik shook his head in disappointment, gazing where Maka ran off. Should he fly off to ensure she didn’t get herself killed or anything? Someone had to still look out for the girl. </p>
<p>	Where was Maka now, anyways? Back in now deserted fields, both in terms of crops and people. The only ones there were the Fates, and some stray slivers of grains. No. No no no no this can’t be happening. Not now! She ran to the eldest Fate with porcelain skin and silky black hair, desperate for anything that could be available. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Lookin' low and lookin' high—”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“There is no food left to find.”</em>
</p>
<p>	The woman placed her hand over the girl’s mouth, her sisters surrounding her with pitiful little poo-poos. </p>
<p>
  <em>“It's hard enough to feed yourself,”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Let alone somebody else.”</em>
</p>
<p>	Maka grit her teeth at the trio as she swung her knapsack to hold it in front of her, scourging for anything she had found months before. Other than stale bread and a canteen, she didn’t hold anything edible inside. She swallowed the lump of anxious doubt in her throat.</p>
<p>
  <em>“I'm trying to believe</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>That the song we’re working on</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Is gonna harbor me from</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The wind, the wind, the wind.”</em>
</p>
<p>	The Fates sang their ominous “Oooo”s as the youngest with a red/blue braid yanked the bag out of the poet’s hands. Maka jumped to her feet, an angry growl desperately avoiding chokage by tears. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Give that back!”</em>
</p>
<p>	Rapidly, like the wind, the knapsack was tossed into the air to the middle Fate-- who was shoved to the ground as Maka leapt for her bag. Thankfully, she caught it with only slightly skinned knees, but she didn’t give a damn about that. Right now, she was purely pissed at these women. </p>
<p>
  <em>“It's everything we have!”</em>
</p>
<p>	Below her, arms slithered around Maka, constricting further movement. The other two sisters loomed above her, reaching for the bag and pulling it from her grasp with all their might. Yet the poet wouldn’t let go; stubborn little thing, that girl was. Though, what other choice did Maka have? </p>
<p>She held it closer and closer to her chest, rolling over off of the middle sister to topple the others into a Fate pile. From there, she shot up, and began to run. Amongst the dirt on her face, it would be hard to see the tears washing it off. Please, please, please be done, Soul. There isn’t much else she can do against this stupid storm. </p>
<p>
  <em>Only took a minute,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But the wrath of the gods was in it!</em>
</p>
<p>Persephone looked around the gloomy city, it’s bright lights and blinding smog mixing together into a big, nauseating mess. Her fists clenched as acid trickled into her voice once more. Unlike Liz and Patty, she gradually witnessed the town slowly grow into this monstrosity, yet she felt as though nothing could be done do to counter the construction. Now that she viewed it in all of it’s supposed glory, it disgusted her more than anything. There wasn’t any order at all—why did Kid find it so beautiful? She spun around, walking right up to Hades with obvious anger through wrinkled eyebrows and clenched teeth</p><p>. </p>
<p>
  <em><a id="return8-1" name="return8-1"></a>“Every year, it's getting worse.<sup>[<a href="#note8-1">1</a>]</sup>
</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Hadestown, hell on Earth!”</em>
</p>
<p>Liz and Patty snapped out of their own staring into the city, pleasantly surprised at how the queen was going off. Kid, however, looked at his wife in confusion. Had she tried to voice her anger to him before? Yes, but it was never with this much acid in her voice. </p>
<p>Persephone placed a hand on the bridge of her nose before both arms stretched out to display how dark and miserable Hadestown had become. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Did you think I'd be impressed</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>With this neon necropolis?!”</em>
</p>
<p>As soon as she raised her arms up, they dropped to her sides, dejected. He wouldn’t listen to her if she blew up like this. Yuri stepped closer to her husband, cupping his face in her hands so he’d actually look at her in the eye. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Lover, what have you become?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Coal cars and oil drums,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Warehouse walls and factory floors— </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I don't know you anymore.”</em>
</p>
<p>For a moment, Kid’s face flinched at this warm, gentle touch. His own hands hesitantly moved to place on top of hers, yet his wife dropped her arms back to hug herself. She tilted her head up towards the sky of dirt and fake stars, thinking about so much more. </p>
<p>
  <em>“And in the meantime up above,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The harvest dies, and people starve,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Oceans rise and overflow…”</em>
</p>
<p>Peresephone looked back to him, fists clenched together and sternly concerned eyes. </p>
<p>
  <em>“It ain't right, and it ain't natural!”</em>
</p>
<p>	Hades stepped back, unsure how to take what his wife said before his eyebrows furrowed together and scoffed.</p>
<p>
  <em>“Lover, everything I do,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I do it for the love of you!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>If you don't even want my love</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I'll give it to someone who does,”</em>
</p>
<p>He spun on his heel as though he would leave right then, but the moment Yuri reached her hand out, he looked back at her over his shoulder, cracking right down on what frustrated him so much. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Someone grateful for her fate.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Someone who appreciates</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The comforts of a gilded cage,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And doesn't try to fly away,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The moment Mother Nature calls!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Someone who could love these walls,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>That hold her close, and keep her safe,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And think of them as my embrace.” </em>
</p>
<p>Every step Hades took closer to Persephone, the more intense, darker, and controlling his aura grew. He smiled and stretched out his arms, but not in the warm, loving way he used to; his lips curled up coldly, and he positioned himself to swipe her into his arms rather than hug her. The Queen couldn’t help but take several steps back every time he sauntered closer, shaking her head. Oh Kid… what happened to you? </p>
<p>What happened to Kid indeed? Patty growled, cracking her knuckles and marching up to the couple-- before Liz quickly tried to hold her sister back. She completely understood what Patty wanted to do, and she too wanted to knock their boss back to his senses, but that probably wouldn’t go through well with Persephone.</p>
<p>A cacophony of various voices rang out both above and below the ground, layering between Soul’s oblivious melodies, Maka’s desperate pleas, Underground workers chants, and Hades humming in his maddening trance </p>
<p>
  <em>“Singing la la la la la la la…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Low, keep your head, keep your head low…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Shelter us,”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Think of them as my embrace…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“La la la la la la la…” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Low, keep your head, keep your head…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Harbor me!!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Think of them as my embrace</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Of you~”</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <strong>POW!</strong>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><a id="note8-1" name="note8-1">1</a> And here’s where the lovely Alistair (the noctivagant)’s art comes into play!! They did a PHENOMENAL portion of an animatic/storyboard regarding this upcoming scene, and it’s just… beautiful. Snatched all my wigs and feels, man. https://thenoctivagant.tumblr.com/post/189943723718/thenoctivagant-happy-resbang-2019-this-year <sup>[<a href="#return8-1">return to text</a>]</sup></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Hey, Little Songbird</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yes. What you think happened indeed happened; Patty squirmed out of her sister’s struggling hold, ran up to Kid, and socked him right in the jaw. Did the man fall straight into the dirt? No; he stumbled, barely catches himself before he rubbed his cheek, and looked at the blonde in disgust.</p>
<p>“Patty, what the hell did you just—” “That’s what you get for acting like such a creep!!” The girl snarled, arms firmly ready to punch him again. “And no, I’m not gonna do it on the other side for symmetry.”</p>
<p>A slow, cold blink broke up Hades’s golden glare. Then, he noticed the lack of droning rhythm of the mines; the workers hadn’t lifted their heads, but they were turned to the side, watching the sudden outburst with tired, practically dead eyes. Quickly, Kid spun on his heel. “This will be settled in a moment! Get back to work!” He roared, waiting for the synchronized sounds of digging, picking, and chanting to return; within seconds, they picked back up as if the miners didn’t notice anything. Good. Everything back in order.</p>
<p>Now, if Patty wanted a fight, she would surely get a fight. Lanky, bony hands tensed up into blades, one flexed palm up, the other palm down; he lunged towards the blonde preparing a swift before he was pulled back by a tight embrace around his waist. Glancing over his shoulder, there was Persephone, squeezing him tightly to stop him with all the strength she had… which really wasn’t much.</p>
<p>“Both of you, calm down!! Patty, you didn’t have to hit him!”</p>
<p>“Maybe not, but how else would he stop looming over ya?” Patty sighed as she crossed her arms, trying to keep them from moving ahead of her. Ok… so she couldn’t smack sense back into him. Those lines were still on his face, and he looked more angry than anything.</p>
<p>Liz stepped up to the King, grabbing him by the collar. “She’s got a point, Hades. You just said you wanted to keep your wife caged up; do you even hear yourself talking right now?!” Hades kept his chilling, blank stare on the older sister. “Of course I do, I’m not deaf.”</p>
<p>“Then you’d realize how messed up you sound right now!” she emphasized, practically spitting on his face. Yet he still looked unphased as ever, folding his hands.</p>
<p><a id="return9-1" name="return9-1"></a> “Messed up? Is it really that messed up to want the one I love to be near me at all times? To desire the two of us to be intertwined together like two snakes, eating each other by the tail and slowly inching away into nothing?” <sup>[<a href="#note9-1">1</a>]</sup></p>
<p>Liz immediately dropped her hands and clung to her sister, shuddering at the image in her head. “Yeah <em><strong>E W</strong></em> no that’s absolutely messed up!! And creepy!!” She didn’t even like snakes to begin with, let alone them eating each other… blergh. Patty squinted, attempting to process what he said—and yeah it was weird.</p>
<p>How did Yuri feel about her husband’s odd analogy? Well, concerned for the most part. Concerned because he never said anything like that before; he wasn’t the type who ever mentioned a… forward desire like that. Nonetheless, Persephone took in a breath to say something, but let it go in surprise as Hades took her hands and separated them from his waist, practically pushing her away from him. He brushed a hand through his hair before walking forwards back to the station. Bold of him to assume he could simply walk away after being such a creep. Liz and Patty chased after him, ready to tackle him and carry him in like a corpse if needed. “And where do you think you’re going?”</p>
<p>“Since none of you really want me around for the moment, I might as well check on some progress with the above construction. Petal, you mind guiding Liz and Patty to the manor and explaining the recent developments? Not the most recent, but you know.” Kid didn’t even so much look back over his shoulder before he disappeared instantaneously in a thick, black haze similar to the smog surrounding Hadestown, leaving the sisters in the middle of it.</p>
<p>The two blondes stood in befuddled silence before turning back to the Queen. “Did we… always have construction above?” Liz mumbled out loud.</p>
<p>“I… I don’t know. I don’t remember if that was something in the works before I left or not, but I wouldn’t put it past him to start above-ground excavations,” Persephone sighed, hugging herself again. That thing he said before, if she didn’t want his love, he’d find another who would actually want to be in her golden cage. He couldn’t have been serious about that, could he?</p>
<p>Thorny vines slowly grew from her hair, a sour ache filling her chest. Yuri tried to swallow the discomforting flavor from reaching her mouth, but it came anyways. “I guess standing here won’t help us at all… so we might just want to head back inside,” she motioned Liz and Patty to follow her to the large manor covered in skulls.</p>
<p>Well, it didn’t take as long to reach the surface world this time; probably because Hades stepped out of his black haze rather than the black train. Why didn’t he just teleport to grab Persephone earlier? The trains worked for a better dramatic entrance, and time to try and talk to her… notice the word <em>try</em>. Regardless, he was back to watch the surface withering into a wasteland. Nothing could possibly grow if she stayed down, and then mankind’s chaos would be snuffed out. As the melodramatic monologue ran through his mind, Hades noticed a small shack in close distance.</p>
<p>There in that shack sat the lone musician strumming his lyre and trying to hum any last minute tunes he could add to his song. That forgotten song of love… that was the melody he continuously held in his mind. It had to be. Soul grumbled to himself as he scavenged his mind for any remaining sparks of witty words—though the sparks blew out as soon as he heard a massive thud beside him.</p>
<p>Red eyes snapped open and looked right at a large, black figure with… 3 white stripes at the top. Odd. Though as the sun slowly inched back into the room, it was easier to see the figure did in fact look like a person. Clearing his throat, Soul hesitantly asked, “Uh—you ok, man?”</p>
<p>“I’m fine.” The figure answered in a deadpan tone, muffled since his face squished against the floorboards.</p>
<p>“You sure? That looked like a pretty heavy fall—”</p>
<p>“I. Am. Fine.” His deadpan changed into threatening reassurance as he finally pushed himself up off the floor. If the white stripes in his hair didn’t give this man away, the bright, practically neon gold color of his eyes surely did; it’s difficult to forget such piercing eyes that glared everyone down at the station only hours earlier.</p>
<p>“You… you’re—”</p>
<p>“Hades? King of the Underworld and God of the Dead?”</p>
<p>“Well yeah, but also a king of the mines, right?”</p>
<p>“Yes,” Hades raised his eyebrows in surprise. “You know that alias as well?” “From what I’ve been told lots of people go to your mines for jobs; it’s not like your mines are recent news or anything.” Soul shrugged, hoping he didn’t appear as tense as he felt. “What are you doing back up here?”</p>
<p>This boy knew about the mines. Alright, he could work with that. Not that surprising, he ignored the boy’s question and motioned to his lyre. “I take it your a musician,” Kid observed.</p>
<p>“Well yeah—Hey, you didn’t answer my question.” “I’ll answer yours once you answer mine: Do you sing?”</p>
<p>Soul hugged his instrument closer to his chest; everyone knows it’s not wise to meddle in death, especially with your words. He stumbled with his own; be honest but don’t give too much away. “Uh, yeah. A little. Nothing that special, y’know? I was just messing around up here.”</p>
<p>Golden eyes still stared at the musician, dissatisfied. “You seemed to be quite passionate if you were simply ‘messing around’ as you put it. But, no matter.” By now, Hades repositioned himself to sit on the step, thankfully on his butt and not his stomach. A long, tense silence draped over the two men as the mortal didn’t know how to get Death away from him, the god looking back at the lyre and surely thinking about something.</p>
<p><a id="return9-2" name="return9-2"></a>Soon enough, a soft, chilling sound of a viola rolled across the barren fields before Hades himself stood up and walked behind Soul, looming over him with a small favor:~” <sup>[<a href="#note9-2">2</a>]</sup></p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Hey, little songbird, give me a song.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I'm a busy man, and I can't stay long.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I got clients to call, I got orders to fill;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I got walls to build, I got riots to quell,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And they're giving me hell back in Hades.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The tan boy with feathery white hair stayed silent, neck craned to see the man covered in black… including odd black lines over his mouth. Kid smirked to himself; this boy wasn’t very handsome in a traditional sense, but there was some rugged charm to him. A kind of face people could take pity on, and allow into their homes. Though with the times getting harder, that small spark of life in those blood red eyes surely would fade. He bent down a little closer to ruffle Soul’s hair.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Hey, little songbird, cat got your tongue?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Always a pity for one so pretty and young</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>When poverty comes to clip your wings</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And knock the wind right out of your lungs</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Hey, nobody sings on empty.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hades stepped to the side and shrugged, then stretching out his hand to pull Soul up off the ground, but the boy stared at him instead. He knew the god beckoned him into something more than just singing for him, yet he couldn’t pinpoint what, exactly. The musician mumbled to himself, looking at his own calloused hands wrapped around his instrument, unaware his mumbling grew into a soft, humming song.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Strange is the call of this strange man.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I wanna fly down and feed at his hand;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I want a nice, soft place to land;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I wanna lie down forever--”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Hey, little songbird, you've got something fine</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>You'd shine like a diamond down in the mine,”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Oh, NOW he was getting to him. Took the boy long enough! Hades crouched back down again, cupping his deathly pale hands between the tan, shark-tooth face of his prey.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“And the choice is yours, if you're willing to choose.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Seeing as you've got nothing to lose,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <a id="return9-3" name="return9-3"></a>
  <em> And I could use a canary~” <sup>[<a href="#note9-3">3</a>]</sup></em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Soul quickly stood up and clung to the shack’s doorway. He had plenty to lose… namely someone he’d lose if he went along with this supposed plan. But he hadn’t seen her since she left for the fields, and from the looks of it, the clouds used up all of their anger for now. He looked back up to the sky with an anxious voice.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Suddenly nothing is as it was...</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Where are you Maka? The storm has passed...</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Wasn't it gonna be the two of us?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Weren't we birds of a feather?</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Maka… Maka. That name sounded familiar; Persephone often talked about a girl with such a name before. A young girl, feisty and stubborn with her plans, avidly reading books and writing poetry despite the darkness of the times. A light of hope, a reason to keep doing what you love. It sickened him, her courage to keep life going.</p>
<p>And this boy said her name so affectionately, almost with a broken heart. No doubt he grew close to her, however long the two knew each other. But now, Maka isn’t here, and the Soul she left behind was obviously, anxiously dependent. Hades chuckled under his breath, standing up himself and leaning on the opposite side of the doorway.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Hey, little songbird, let me guess.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>You’re both kind of poets, and you’re penniless.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Give her your hand, you'll give her your hand-to-mouth</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>She'll write you a poem when the power is out</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Hey, why not fly south for the winter?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The sky grew to a darker grey standing against the lighter-toned fields; all of the scenery easily hiding the chilled winds with those three, Fateful women slowly inching towards the shack. Kid sensed them immediately— to be completely honest, he too feared the Fates. Why? Well, the past, present, and future… time itself is difficult to make order out of, let alone wither away into nothing. Regardless, he tugged at Soul’s bulky wool coat, pulling the boy close so he could wrap an arm around his shoulder.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Hey, little songbird, look all around you.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>See how the vipers and vultures surround you?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And they'll take you down, they'll pick you clean,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>If you stick around such a desperate scene.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>See, people get mean when the chips are down…”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Well, Soul didn’t have to be told those words twice; the low, ominous rasp of the King’s voice didn’t help him feel any more comfortable. He pushed Hades away from him, jagged teeth bared much like animal fangs.</p>
<p>“Alright, quit your creepy seducing! What is it that you want from me?!”</p>
<p>“It’s not what I want from you,” Hades shook his head, realigning his coat straight. “It’s what you want from me.”</p>
<p>“What are you talking about?”</p>
<p>“If this ‘Maka’ of yours doesn’t make it back, which I find highly likely, you could use a little gift from me.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em><a id="return9-4" name="return9-4"></a> Songbird versus rattlesnake<sup>[<a href="#note9-4">4</a>]</sup></em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A low hum began to drone out the background.</p>
<p>
  <em>“What is it?”</em>
</p>
<p>The musician bitterly asked as the king pushed up his tan hand and dropped something into it; something many hungry young ones like him would practically kill for.</p>
<p>The hum added another layer of harmony to it, growing in sound.</p>
<p>
  <em>“Your ticket,”</em>
</p>
<p>Before his gift could be examined, the man covered in black soon stepped away, disappearing in sudden haze just as he entered. Soul stood there bewildered supposedly all by himself,</p>
<p>
  <em>And Hades gave him a choice to make:</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>A ticket to the underworld!</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A scale of harmonizing hums encircled him, the hosts of those voices stepping out from the shadows. Low and behold, the three sisters of Fate trapped their prey in; the eldest on his left, middle right in front of him, and the youngest on the right.</p>
<p>The musician obviously panicked, clenching his fists tightly. “Oh great, now you’re going to take whatever that creep handed me?”</p>
<p>“Don’t worry, little birdy,” the tall woman with raven’s hair and porcelain skin placed a finger to her lips to hush him. “We’re simply here to help you make a decision.”</p>
<p>A decision? Soul felt something metallic warming up in his hand; he opened it, jaw dropping. In his hand were two small, golden coins— the fee for a train ticket.</p>
<p>
  <em><a id="return9-5" name="return9-5"></a> He could’ve sworn he heard the jolting sound of piano chords played, along with maracas, some sort of wooden block, and other instruments. A samba-esque song crept into the room much like how the Fates slowly stepped closer to the boy, further trapping him. They began to taunt him one after the other<sup>[<a href="#note9-5">5</a>]</sup>.</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Life ain't easy,”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Life ain't fair!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“A boy’s gotta fight for his rightful share!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“What you gonna do when the chips are down,</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Now that the chips are down?</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>What you gonna do when the chips are down,</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Now that the chips are down?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The sisters joined hands and spun in a circle. Each one leaned in closer to scare him a little more.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Help yourself,”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“To hell with the rest!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Even the one who loves you best!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“What you gonna do when the chips are down,</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Now that the chips are down?</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>What you gonna do when the chips are down,</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Now that the chips are down?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There were really only two options at this point: go down under, or suffer with the fleeting hope their supposed “song” would fix everything. Maka still wasn’t back yet… was she ok? The musician dropped to his knees in supposed defeat as the Fates enclosed with their chorus.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Oh, my aching heart…”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“What you gonna do when the chips are down,</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Now that the chips are down?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Though as they walked closer together, Soul flashed a cheeky grin and rolled out from under the trio. Sadly, he didn’t trip any of them up, thought the one with the long maroon braid stumbled a little. He shot up and raced for his coat and scarf, only for the older sisters to beat him to it, holding them out menacingly. Attempting to run out of the shack, the youngest Fate soon stuck out her leg and tripped him herself, catching him before he fell to push him into the coat (held by the middle sister). The eldest then pulled the scarf around his neck.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Take if you can,”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Give if you must,”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Ain't nobody but yourself to trust!</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>What you gonna do when the chips are down,</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Now that the chips are down?</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>What you gonna do when the chips are down,</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Now that the chips are down?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>After jostling with him again, scaly hands slithered up and formed Soul’s hand to look like a gun, a sudden vision of the pigtailed blonde he’d grown so fond of appearing as a mirage. The other sisters leaned in and whispered on his left and right.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Aim for the heart,”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Shoot to kill!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“If you don't do it, then the other one will!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>A small arrow shaped dart was flung into the illusion, Maka soon dissipating like the clearing of fog.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“What you gonna do when the chips are down,</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Now that the chips are down?</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>What you gonna do when the chips are down,</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Now that the chips are down?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The musician wrestled to break away once more, then scooching back to the shelves for a frying pan to fend himself, though they only cooed as though he were a small puppy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“And the first shall be first,</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>And the last shall be last;</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Cast your eyes to heaven—</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>You get a knife in the back!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Suddenly appearing behind him, the youngest sister whipped around her braid, the end of it acutely pointed and prickling him in the back. Soul swatted the pan at her, only to be caught in a sticky thread of cobwebs and falling to the ground.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Nobody's righteous!</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Nobody's proud!</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Nobody's innocent,</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Now that the chips are down!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Now that the-”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Now that the-”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Now that the-”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Now that the-”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Now that the chips are down!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Well, the Fates still loomed over him, sadistic smirks and all. Jagged fangs bared at the sisters anyways. “Alright! I get it, Hades sent ya to bully me into going down! Can you quit it?!” He massaged his neck before the red flower behind him caught his focus. It grew from the song of the King and Queen, who already lived in Hadestown. If he already knew that their relationship was strained, it would only make sense to go to the source of the problem.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Maka wasn’t dead; a measly storm could barely leave that tough girl a bruise. Wherever she was, she had to be on her way… and surely, she would follow him, right? Well, she’d follow him if he explained it to her properly. “Hey, before we go-” Soul began to ask the Fates to wait a minute, but he turned his head back to see only the empty interior of the shack. Oh thank goodness. They left him in peace!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He grabbed a spare notebook and pencil, and began to jot down the gist of his plan to tell Maka when she got back.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Preoccupied, he didn’t hear a rattling sound, or something slithering across the floorboards; the sounds belonged to a snake, a dark colored snake with a rusted-golden arrow pattern on top of itself to be specific. It slid up to the boy’s ankles, which lacked any shoes or socks for protection; with a slight hissing sound, the snake bared its fangs, unhinged its jaw, and sank its teeth into Soul’s leg. A sharp pain instantly struck him with an audible wince, so he turned back to see his attacker. He dropped his pencil and paper before it decrescendoed to a small exhale, his eyes drooping shut as he nearly plopped to the floor head first.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a id="return9-6" name="return9-6"></a>Nearly, if the eldest sister didn’t catch him nestled into her bosom. “Well done, Atropo<sup>[<a href="#note9-6">6</a>]</sup>.” She nodded to the snake as it turned back into the middle Fate with the rusted-golden front braid.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“About time he made up his mind to go,” Atropo rolled her eyes, glancing over her shoulder at the flower. “You want us to do anything with that?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I say we take it with us! Show it to the King and have him pluck it apart,” the youngest suggested with a slight snicker.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>An ivory hand was raised. “Not just yet, Lachesis,” the eldest said. “We’ll leave it here for now, let it act as a tragic parting gift.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Lachesis sighed, readjusting her turban. “You do almost everything for the tragedy of mortals, don’t you, Clotho?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eyes as dark as midnight twinkled with amusement. “You’re not wrong,” Clotho chuckled, motioning Atropo to help her carry the boy. “Get the coins from off the floor. Going about this without his fee would be pointless now, wouldn’t it?”</p>
<p> </p>
<p><a id="return9-7" name="return9-7"></a>Lachesis clicked her tongue in reluctant obedience, scooping up the two coins and placing them on Soul’s eyelids<sup>[<a href="#note9-7">7</a>]</sup>. With that, the sisters of Fate carried their prey down to the train station; he was already gone and down, bound for Hadestown.</p>
<p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><a id="note9-1" name="note9-1">1</a> Little note here—this is lowkey a reference to a book I read in school, In the Lake of the Woods. If you’ve read it, the connection should show itself quickly. If not… I’ll spare you the acid trip: the main character desires a strong sense of control, and often mentions these two snakes he saw almost eat each other whole while in Vietnam. <sup>[<a href="#return9-1">return to text</a>]</sup></p>
<p><a id="note9-2" name="note9-2">2</a> And now, Patrick Page's gorgeous bass to bless/curse your ears and Kid voice head canons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hRGQqFfqps0&amp;list=PLcZhIiPR2E4UFVQ1tSFDpiPpd1V0v277M&amp;index=13 <sup>[<a href="#return9-2">return to text</a>]</sup></p>
<p><a id="note9-3" name="note9-3">3</a>Now, why a canary of all things? It’s not just because canaries are sweet little songbirds often depicted as house pets in cages. Starting around 1911 and ending in 1986, John Scott Haldane suggested for mining companies to use canaries and other such birds to detect carbon monoxide and other poisonous gases; with much higher sensitivity to those gases, if the bird became ill or died, that acted as a good, early indication for the miners to evacuate. This tradition was adopted by several miners from Britain, Canada, and the United States, so much so that the phrase “canary in a coal mine” became its own metaphor (something small and supposedly “innocent” becoming a warning of serious danger). <sup>[<a href="#return9-3">return to text</a>]</sup></p>
<p><a id="note9-4" name="note9-4">4</a> A fun little introduction arrives before my personal favorite song of the show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVjSwqZHJ1w&amp;list=PLcZhIiPR2E4UFVQ1tSFDpiPpd1V0v277M&amp;index=14 <sup>[<a href="#return9-4">return to text</a>]</sup></p>
<p><a id="note9-5" name="note9-5">5</a> THE MAIN EVENT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qu4AhyJL_U4&amp;list=PLcZhIiPR2E4UFVQ1tSFDpiPpd1V0v277M&amp;index=15 <sup>[<a href="#return9-5">return to text</a>]</sup></p>
<p><a id="note9-6" name="note9-6">6</a>Believe it or not, the Fates do in fact have names!! Following their gimmick, Clotho (the oldest, thus Arachne) spins the thread of life, Lachesis (Shaula) measures its length, and Atropo (Medusa) cuts the thread, ending mortal lifespans. <sup>[<a href="#return9-6">return to text</a>]</sup></p>
<p><a id="note9-7" name="note9-7">7</a> In ancient Greece, burial sometimes involved two coins to be placed on the deceased’s eyes, to fairly pay Charon (the guide of the River Styx) to let them cross. <sup>[<a href="#return9-7">return to text</a>]</sup></p>
<p>I didn't know how to add this song in with the narrative, but it's wonderful and provides a lot more context: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhuyQfLXARs&amp;list=PLcZhIiPR2E4UFVQ1tSFDpiPpd1V0v277M&amp;index=16</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Wait For Me</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Intro-transition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXIXq1MM6iw&amp;list=PLcZhIiPR2E4UFVQ1tSFDpiPpd1V0v277M&amp;index=17</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hermes flew overhead, making his way towards Maka’s home. As soon as the Fates let go of taunting her and suddenly vanished, they were bound to continue their playful menace elsewhere-- didn’t take a genius to guess their next victim. By the time he reached the front doorway, however, he was already too late; only the flower and a halfway written note on the shelf remained. Kilik rushed in and quickly read through the note, frustrated anxiety growing with each word left on the page.</p>
<p>Despite facing a scuffle on top of her jog back to the shack, Maka didn’t look too disheveled running with a little more firewood in her arms. She dropped it at the front of the house before stepping in to see the familiar god, cheerfully calling his name.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Mr. Hermes!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Hey, the big artiste!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Ain't you working on your masterpiece?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Oblivious to Kilik’s weak smile, the poet simply answered his question while looking around the shack. “We were, but I remembered I had to check on the crops, and grab more firewood before winter…” She grew quiet, her partner nowhere in sight.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Where did Soul go?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Sister, what do you care?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>You'll find another muse somewhere,”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That half-hearted response didn’t sound like the Hermes she knew at all. Maka repeated herself, gritting her teeth and demanding an answer.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Where is he?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Why you wanna know?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Wherever he is, is where I'll go!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hermes looked at the note in his hands and sighed with melancholy.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“And what if I said he's down below?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The question hit the girl straight to the heart. Her eyebrows winced as she repeated the location.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Down below?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Down below.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Six-feet-under-the-ground below.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He called your name before he went,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But I guess you weren't listening.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>He gave Maka the note; although she only read through Soul’s handwriting a handful of times, the jagged attempts to remain proper but still being sloppy were all too recognizable. She only skimmed through a handful of it, the words striking her hardest being “I have a plan… meet me in Hadestown.” Maka’s shoulders dropped along with her heart.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“No…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“So…”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kilik picked the flower out of its vase, offering it out to her.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Just how far would you go for him?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Like he even had to ask.</p>
<p>
  <em>“To the end of time;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>To the end of the earth!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hermes pursed his lips. Of course she would answer that way, with her perfect blend of desperation, concern, and frustration. He asked another, more important question.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“You got a ticket?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She weakly shook her head, her answer coming out like the whimper of a kitten.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“No...?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Yeah, I didn't think so.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>'Course, there is another way, but</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I ain't supposed to say it.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>The hesitance to tell perked her head up.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Another way?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Yeah, around the back,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But that ain't easy walkin', Jack.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It ain't for the sensitive of souls,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>So do you really wanna go?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Maka snatched the flower from the god, holding it between her hands to her chest. After glancing to the red petals for conviction, she gave Hermes her answer:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“With all my heart.”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“With all your heart…”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Kilik repeated her conviction, exhaling with a small laugh. Poor girl had no clue what would hit her, yet she’s stepping up to it anyways.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Well, that's a start.”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em><a id="return10-1" name="return10-1"></a>How to get to Hadestown:<sup>[<a href="#note10-1">1</a>]</sup></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>You'll have to take the long way down,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Through the underground, under cover of night;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Laying low, staying out of sight.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>There ain't no compass, sister, ain't no map.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Just a telephone wire and the railroad track;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>You keep on walking and you don't look back,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>'Til you get to the Bottomland!</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>That evening, through a back cavern not too far from the station, Hermes watched the young poet girl walk down into one of the various tunnels used when building the tracks underground. She carried her backpack full of all the spare water and bread she could find (along with the note Soul left her), a lantern in one hand, and the red flower in one of her pigtails. Even in the pitch black night, her green eyes shone with a determined promise: she will bring him back from that Hell.</p>
<p>The tunnels themselves did indeed only held a telephone wire as any sort of guide; she gently picked it up, walking forward and coursing it through her hands. The occasional lamp hung low from above, dimly illuminating the tunnels as a signal of train tracks up ahead. Trains still whizzed by every 10 to 15 minutes, so Maka would quickly cling to the side walls for the locomotive to pass, inching alongside it with the wire still in her hand. Hang on Soul… just hang on.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Wait for me, I'm coming!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Wait, I'm coming with you!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Wait for me, I'm coming too,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I'm coming too!</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eventually, Maka saw some sort of gated wall up ahead; as if an underground city didn’t need even more barriers to help it be further hidden. She recalled Hermes’s explanation of the entrance, how best to get around it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>The river Styx is high and wide,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Cinder bricks and razor wire.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Walls of iron and concrete,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Hound dogs howling 'round the gate;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Those dogs'll lay down and play dead,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>If you got the bones, if you got the bread—</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But if all you got is your own two legs,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Just be glad you got 'em!</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Still glued to the corner of the tunnel into the entrance, Maka quietly opened her backpack and looked through it for a strategy. Luckily, she did have some bread. Only one loaf of it to be exact, but it’s better than nothing. Tearing of a good chunk, she made a small whistle that echoed through the caverns. The various “hellhounds” looked up from their patrols in alert, each ferocious with large claws and teeth (the largest, supposed leader hosting three heads to one body). They could see a small… something thrown into the center of the route-changing wheel; two of the smaller dogs began to walk to it with suspicion, but Cerberus held them back, one of the heads making a small gruff. Another head lifted its ears to hear another sound of feet stepping on the dirt, glancing in its direction. There stood Maka with the other half of the loaf, so close to making it into the thin space between the large center holding the city, and the industrial wall surrounding it. A sharp bark alerted the other beasts, all of them soon charging for that space to catch the intruder. Maka immediately bolted in between the dirt and concrete, thankful that 8 foot dog couldn’t fit any of its three heads into that narrow space. Most of the other dogs were still able to chase after her, barking viciously and almost nipping her ankles several times. Quickly, the poet raised the lantern in her hands, almost playfully.</p>
<p><a id="return10-2" name="return10-2"></a> “You want it, go get it!! FETCH!!” She tossed her lantern into the pile of dogs, who then changed their course to chase after it<sup>[<a href="#note10-2">2</a>]</sup>. Good news: the dogs weren’t chasing her anymore. Bad news: It instantly got darker without her own personal lamp, but it wouldn’t be too dark for long. Three small bright, shining circles grew closer up ahead as she ran to them; surely those were people who could help her!</p>
<p>Low and behold, those lights came from the Fates, who shone their lanterns right into Maka’s eyes, asking questions in dissonant harmony together, then Clotho and Lachesis each speaking up individually.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Who are you?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Where do you think you're going?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Who are you?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Why are you all alone?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Who do you-”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“-Think you are?”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Though the harmonies still carried through the beginning, Atropo finished the last two questions herself.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Who are you-</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>-To think that you can walk a road that no one ever walked before?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“La la la la la la la…”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>To the surprise of the Fates, Maka didn’t answer any of their questions; she simply closed her eyes, a faint glow to her whole being as she began to sing the infamous hemiola she heard so many times before. She inhaled another breath after peeking to see the sisters’ surprise before continuing to sing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“La la la la la la—”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“La la la la la la</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>La la la la la la…”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Faint echoes in various voices soon grew around her, sounding as though on the other side of the wall. Concrete began to rumble, somehow splitting apart at the base and yet still staying put together; the wall made a little hole for the poet, all on its own. Maka continued to sing the string of “la”s as her voice and the echoes crescendoed, then running and sliding under the hole before the Fates could snap back to their senses and catch her.</p>
<p>Now inside the City of Death, Maka could finally see what it’s people looked like… well, the people that seemed to work on the wall on the outskirts of the city, anyway. Surprisingly, they paid no mind to the running through their land; the continuous, droning rhythm of hammers, pickaxes, and laying bricks drowned out the sound of her breathing. Once she reached the dirt-scrapers (skyscrapers, but they couldn’t touch the sky underground) covered in neon lights, she found herself in a crowd of people pushing and shoving through each other in all directions. From what she could see from their shadowy figures, sometimes they formed separate individuals, other times a massive clump of beings; faces would strike out that she found familiar but didn’t know, and faces she knew but couldn’t recognize how all the same. Before she knew it, all Maka could see were faces… an entire ocean of them, and she was sinking towards the bottom.</p>
<p>As though Hermes were really there, his voice cut through the incomprehensible chatter:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>You're on the lam, you’re on the run!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Don't give your name, you don't have one!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And don't look no one in the eye!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>That town'll try to suck you dry;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>They'll suck your brain, they'll suck your breath!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>They'll pluck the heart right out your chest!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>They'll truss you up in your Sunday best,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And stuff your mouth with cotton!!</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Maka snapped out of her daze, pushing herself up to the top of the sea of souls, her conviction now heard aloud as she made her own clearing.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Wait for me, I'm coming!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Wait, I'm coming with you!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Wait for me, I'm coming too,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I'm coming too!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Wait!!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Finally, she pushed herself out of the sea, feeling her own feet pound on the dirt and concrete ground; like her heartbeat magnified in volume, Maka also heard a pulsing rhythm with each step she took, knowing fully what it was despite never hearing any of these sounds in her life.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“I'm coming wait for me!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I hear the walls repeating</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The falling of my feet and</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It sounds like drumming!!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Wait!!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“And I am not alone,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I hear the rocks and stones</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Echoing my song… </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I'm coming!”</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Almost every major street she turned to was blockaded by crowds of silhouettes, none of them visibly holding anyone that looked like her musician. That meant only one choice: check for routes through the alleys, and see if he’s around the heart of Hadestown.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><a id="note10-1" name="note10-1">1</a> The most iconic/recognized number of the musical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nKTH0zx_H8&amp;list=PLcZhIiPR2E4UFVQ1tSFDpiPpd1V0v277M&amp;index=18<sup>[<a href="#return10-1">return to text</a>]</sup></p>
<p><a id="note10-2" name="note10-2">2</a>Don’t worry, it’s a sturdy, electric lantern! No doggies were harmed, just distracted by a massive bright ball with a handle <sup>[<a href="#return10-2">return to text</a>]</sup></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Why We Build the Wall</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Wooot! Woooot!!</p>
<p>A high-pitched whistle acted as an alarm that woke up a groggy Soul. Once again, he found himself in his awkward sleeping-in-a-train-car position, laying in plush leather—plush leather seats?! He sat up, pressing his hands on the cushy material, then pinching his cheek; it hurt as much as pinches hurt, so he definitely woke up in a train… but he didn’t have to run away again, did he? He could stay with Maka as long as he needed to, though there was his plan of going to Hadestown… oh shoot. </p>
<p>He was already <em>in </em>Hadestown, wasn’t he?</p>
<p>Soul shook his head to regain recent memories of what happened: he started to jot down his strategy to tell Maka when she got back, and then that weird snake bit him, which probably knocked him out. Did the Fates still lurk around him and carry him into one of the trains? That had to be the only explanation!</p>
<p>Well. He was here now. The train car lacked silent rumbling beneath him, so it was detached from other cargo. If guards came up and saw him lurking in a passenger car, that was bound to get him in trouble. Plus, if he was already here, might as well try to see the gods he wanted to perform for eventually, right? The boy swung his legs down to the floor, only then noticing the sticky texture in his lap; he picked up some of it, seeing it was all a spider web. A spider web blanket-woven thing; an odd gesture, with an even odder texture. Soul cringed as he swat it off of his clothes before finally standing up and running out into the city.</p>
<p>“What the… what the hell?” Liz muttered under her breath. She and her sister stood on the highest balcony of the mansion; they could see the whole town, all of its nauseating neon lights through thick smog, and the massive wall that acted as a backdrop to the rest of the buildings at this point. Was he planning to make this thing touch the topsoil? </p>
<p>Patty sensed her sister’s unease, placing a hand on top of hers and patting it gently. “It’s kinda hard to look at, isn’t it?” She asked, empathetic to the disgust.</p>
<p>“Yeah… I’m surprised Kid finds it all so aesthetically pleasing, or whatever.”</p>
<p>Speak of the devil, the clicks of black dress shoes tapped against the marble flooring, the aforementioned King walking in between the sisters, resting his arms on the framing behind him after readjusting his sunglasses.   Hades looked back down on his workers with a pleased, eerily placid half-smile. “Beautiful, isn’t it?” He asked the sisters. “Not so much a river, but that there is the Styx: my people’s pride and joy.”</p>
<p>The younger blonde let out a curt laugh. “Ha. If those faces are happy, prideful faces, I’d hate to see them angry or sad.” Patty glared at the god, her lips scrunched up in a pout. </p>
<p>He didn’t pay much mind to her comment. “Well, they work on it so hard, it only makes sense they enjoy it so much.”</p>
<p>“Are you kidding?!” Liz scoffed, throwing a hand in the air. “They work on it constantly because you’re forcing them to! We’ve been here for like what, 2 or 3 hours and they still haven’t taken a break yet? That work’s gotta be difficult, and you’re not even letting them take breaks?”</p>
<p>“They don’t need to; that’s one of the perks of souls being the source of labor.” Hades nonchalantly readjusted the cuffs of his sleeves. “No meal or bathroom breaks necessary, and no need for going home to sleep.”</p>
<p>“Just because they don’t need to eat, pee, or sleep doesn’t mean they shouldn’t eat, pee and sleep!!” Patty objected, further explaining her claim as the other two stared at her nonplussed. “Because y’know! They need to balance themselves out! Work hard, and play and relax hard too!”</p>
<p>Liz squinted in processing her sister’s words. “I think the weird part is the inclusion of peeing.”</p>
<p>“What goes in has to come out, right?”</p>
<p>“Patty, please. Zip. It.” Kid suddenly demanded through clenched teeth, clutching his head. This concerned both sisters, as they leaned in closer to him, the elder placing a hand on his back. </p>
<p>“Woah, Kid… you ok? Do you have a headache or something?”</p>
<p>As soon as his supposed pain began, the deity let go of his head and gave Liz a chilled, blank stare. “I’m fine. But what Patty said has a counterpoint,” Kid continued as if nothing happened. “Many of these souls work on this wall as punishment for their crimes in life. Criminals, murderers, the filthy, filthy sinners of the world, do you really think those sinners deserve breaks to rest, away from the consequence of their actions?” His head whipped around to Patty, who pouted once more.</p>
<p>“I didn’t say they should all go free, Kiddo! But for all the bad people you got working on the wall, what about the good people?”</p>
<p>“Good people?”</p>
<p>“Yeah! Those who nurse the sick, give to charity, all those acts of kindness and everything!”</p>
<p>Hades laughed curtly at her cheerful smile. “There’s no such thing as a ‘good person,’ Patty. Every human soul holds plenty of sin. No matter how many good acts a person commits, it does not atone for whatever cruelty they also committed in their lifetime.”</p>
<p>The two sisters stared at their companion, then back to each other; this went on for a good minute or so. Liz wrinkled her forehead. There was a truth to those words, yet they were also incredibly dry, pessimistic. As though nobody could ever truly catch a break, even in the afterlife. “So you’re not even judging their souls anymore… just throwing them to work on that thing?</p>
<p>“I make my judgements, and it’s all the same no matter the soul.”</p>
<p>That cold, apathetic tone grew all the more grating. Liz displayed the view of the stacked pile of rocks. “Then why are you having them build this stupid wall to begin with?! Why not send them to push rocks on hills that always make them fall back over, or have a bird take out their liver everyday?! Why <em>this</em> punishment specifically?”</p>
<p><a id="return11-1" name="return11-1"></a>The king slowly turned his head to her, and pushed himself in between the two sisters. He took in a breath, and a low bellow of a question sang out into the city<sup>[<a href="#note11-1">1</a>]</sup>:</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>“Why do we build the wall,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>My children, my children?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Why do we build the wall?”</em>
</p>
<p>	A chorus of voices soon echoed back, every worker singing the same answer. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Why do we build the wall?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>We build the wall to keep us free;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>That's why we build the wall,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>We build the wall to keep us free!”</em>
</p>
<p>	The two blondes huddled closer together, holding each other’s hands tightly. Goosebumps appeared on their skin at the sheer volume and number surprisingly answering him; as if he brainwashed them into answering on command. As though he knew what his assistants would ask next, he added another layer to the question. </p>
<p>
  <em>“How does the wall keep us free,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>My children, my children?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>How does the wall keep us free?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“How does the wall keep us free?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The wall keeps out the enemy,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And we build the wall to keep us free;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>That's why we build the wall,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>We build the wall to keep us free!”</em>
</p>
<p>Within the city, both Soul and Maka could hear the echoing song not only from the miners surrounding the outskirts, but the various crowd amalgamations gradually joining in the chant. One found themselves on the northern end of the city, the other on the south, each inching across winding alleyways so not to get pulled into the sea of unknowingly familiar faces. Regardless of which side they were on, they heard Hades lead the song once more, his voice growing slightly louder. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Who do we call the enemy,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>My children, my children?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Who do we call the enemy?”</em>
</p>
<p>	Likewise, the response crescendoed as well, with crisper diction and a hastier pace growing as well. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Who do we call the enemy?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The enemy is poverty,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And the wall keeps out the enemy,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And we build the wall to keep us free;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>That's why we build the wall,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>We build the wall to keep us free!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Because we have and they have not,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>My children, my children!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Because they want what we have got!”</em>
</p>
<p>The voices moved far past forte now, Hades’s tone holding confidence, while the responding echo became more bitter with each line of the answer.</p>
<p>
  <em>“Because we have and they have not,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Because they want what we have got!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The enemy is poverty,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And the wall keeps out the enemy,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And we build the wall to keep us free;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>That's why we build the wall,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>We build the wall to keep us free!”</em>
</p>
<p>	Soul stumbled out of the alleyway to see the crowd merging into small circles, much like the circle of concrete trapping them in this freakish town. He saw a large, black mansion up ahead; that had to be the center, where the King and Queen resided. Now, all he had to do was talk to them, establish a deal for him to stay, and wait for Maka. The boy dashed across the wider streets, running around the creepy formations of strangers to reach the front door. </p>
<p>	Meanwhile, that very poet hid in one of the narrower strips of ghettos, unable to look away at the crowds and small views of the workers each striking rocks, metal, or the ground with the same droning rhythm. An entire city… no, the entire Underworld, turned into a massive cult and nobody ever said a word to her. The sight gave her goosebumps, made her queasy; she wanted to puke on Hades himself in pure disgust.</p>
<p>	The king inhaled a satisfying breath before asking one more question in a husky whisper. </p>
<p>
  <em>“What do we have that they should want,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>My children, my children?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>What do we have that they should want?”</em>
</p>
<p>Hadestown answered in fortissimo. </p>
<p>
  <em>“What do we have that they should want?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>We have a wall to work upon!!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>We have work and they have none--”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“And our work is never done,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>My children, my children!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And the war is never won!”</em>
</p>
<p>Kid shouted as well, matching their volume and throwing up his arms in encouragement; every layer of this wall-like song received a swift punch to the beat with his fists as he joined in for the final chorus. </p>
<p>
  <em>“The enemy is poverty!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And the wall keeps out the enemy!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And we build the wall to keep us free!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>That's why we build the wall!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>We build the wall to keep us free!”</em>
</p>
<p>One last time, Hadestown sang at the top of their lungs to their ruler. </p>
<p>
  <em>“We build the wall to keep us free!!”</em>
</p>
<p>	Sudden silence chilled across the city as the miners and builders went back to work, the crowds merged back into lumps, and Hades simply gazed at his creation fondly. </p>
<p>	As if anyone else could consider whatever just happened a fond experience. </p>
<p>Liz clenched her teeth at the words “my children, my children” still ringing in her ears. Persephone had always adored children, saying herself that a queen must not only be a good leader, but also a motherly figure for all of those who never had mothers with them. Thus, she had a habit of referring to the younger Hadestown residents as “my child” or “my children.” Now, Kid was using the same calling towards every resident; calling them his children in his rigid, almost sadistic voice, that lost any warmth it once held. Instead of the phrase showing endearment and affection, there was a sense of judgement; a disappointed, high-standard, <strike>really shitty</strike> father that figured punishing his children would teach them lessons better than actually teaching the lessons themselves. Somewhat like how his own father treated him closer to the coronation. </p>
<p>Patty squeezed her sister’s hand in both fear and reassurance. Fear that their dear friend, practically their family threw himself far into the deep end; reassurance for Liz to openly ask the question both of them now held, especially now that they saw his face lit up in the same delight as watching a hated piece of paper burn in fire. </p>
<p>The elder sister squeezed back with a deep breath, her coming out more shaky than she liked. </p>
<p>“Kid… you don’t actually believe all that crap about poverty and their freedom, do you?”</p>
<p>	He looked over his shoulder and sputtered a small, sadistic chuckle. He pulled the sisters closer to him by their arms, whispering the truth. “My dears, you know very well that peasants believe whatever the King tells them, especially when the King says what the peasants want to hear.”</p>
<p>	The blondes stood there speechless; that implication was almost even worse than him falling for the “rich man’s burden” all on his own. So many of those people came down in search of a better life, to escape the struggles they faced back home and look towards opportunity… and he toyed with them. He was pulling their strings by playing exactly with their weakness. </p>
<p>A lemony nausea bubbled up in Patty’s throat as she snarled at Kid once more. Though this time, she couldn’t say why. Of course she was mad at how horrible he became toward her, her sister, his people, and even his own wife… but she’d be lying if she worried this was all her and Liz’s fault. That they left him on his own for too long. She wanted to punch the daylights out of her “king,” yet also wanted to cry out for the Kid they knew before; please… please come back home. </p>
<p>Liz pulled her little sister close to comfort her, unaware of the soft footsteps running up the stairs onto the balcony. </p>
<p>“Mister Hades?”</p>
<p>Not even missing a beat, Hades looked up to see the taller, tan musician all three recognized. “Ah, the songbird from before. I see you’re taking up the offer?” </p>
<p>Liz paled, eyes growing wide and worried. “Offer? What offer?’</p>
<p>Soul furrowed his eyebrows, scowl on his face. “Believe me, I’m not too thrilled to go along with your plan… but it’s the only way my own plan can work.” That’s not suspicious sounding at all! Red eyes caught a view of the thousands of silhouettes, and the massive wall of stone they were building. Even though he caught glimpses of it as he hiked to the city’s heart, it still left him in awe to see the wall in its entirety in person.</p>
<p>“Soul, whatever you’re planning, don’t you dare think you can pass it through! Something’s seriously wrong with him—”</p>
<p>“This isn’t your decision, Liz. I can tell whatever you try to tell him certainly won’t change his mind,” Kid said curtly, walking away from the balcony and motioning the musician to follow him into the darkly colored hallway, in front of a blood red door.</p>
<p>
  <em><a id="return11-2" name="return11-2"></a>Then Hades told the young Soul<sup>[<a href="#note11-2">2</a>]</sup></em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“There are papers to be signed;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Step into my office,”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And he closed the door behind.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Now a lot can happen behind closed doors;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>That's for sure, brother, that's a fact.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But a lot can happen on the factory floor,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>When the foreman turns his back.</em>
</p>
<p>A familiar yet husky and acidic voice soon spoke up to the two sisters remaining. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Anybody want a drink?”</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><a id="note11-1" name="note11-1">1</a> Song begins here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1VDxMe54Og <sup>[<a href="#return11-1">return to text</a>]</sup></p>
<p><a id="note11-2" name="note11-2">2</a> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XLkyhkpBNaU&amp;list=PLcZhIiPR2E4UFVQ1tSFDpiPpd1V0v277M&amp;index=20<sup>[<a href="#return11-2">return to text</a>]</sup></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Our Lady of the Underground</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Like 5 or 6 months later, and just before Resbang 2020 starts, I finally finish this last chapter. Kinda silly of me, huh? But I'm glad I can fall back into this story before working with act 2! I hope you use this as a fun little reminder as well.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Liz and Patty instantly turned around; low and behold, Persephone draped against the doorway. Her frilly, bright green dress changed to a frilly black gown, keeping most of the same style save for the noticeable symmetrical adjustments; the top of her gown divided directly in the middle, pale pink trimming on the sides of the long skirt. Even her flower crown changed, made of darker colored flowers of black, purple, red and some slight pink, a large white <a id="return12-1" name="return12-1"></a>lily<sup>[<a href="#note12-1">1</a>]</sup> in the center. The new outfit wasn’t unusual; she often changed into it as her official “queen attire.” What stood out was her expression while hugging the balcony entrance. She giggled quietly to herself, face flushed and eyelids barely lifted open as she hugged the doorway. </p>
<p>Navy blue eyes trailed down to finally notice the small bottle of wine in the queen’s hand… it was at most halfway full. “Uh… Yuri?” Liz hesitantly walked up to her, pointing to the bottle. “How many of those have you had so far?” </p>
<p>“Hmm? Oh, ya mean of the wine?” If her body language didn’t give the message, her dazed, slightly slurred speech surely did the trick. “Don’ worry, Lizzie! I’ve only had one or two of these little baby bottles! I’m not that drunk!” Here’s the catch: the goddess could barely hold her liquor. Absolute lightweight, especially with wine that probably strengthened with age for who knows how long. </p>
<p>Patty couldn’t help but snicker a little. “Are you sure? You seem awfully tipsy,” she covered her slight grin with her hands. </p>
<p>Persephone’s cheeks puffed up, and she stuck out her tongue with a “pbbt” sound. “I’m totally fine! But if you’re that worried about lil’ ol’ me, this’ll be my last one before I head out, ok?” She winked before placing the bottle to her lips with a swift swig; in mere moments, the wine inside drained out into her mouth with a softly audible swallow. Like a young child, she shoved the bottle to the sisters. “All gone!!”</p>
<p>While Patty found this new sight oddly entertaining, Liz grew concerned, even more so at her friend’s previous words. “Wait, heading out? You’re going to go back up top?”</p>
<p>“Oooh I wish!! But Kitten won’t let me, especially when I’ve only been stuck in this cave for like, a day!” The brunette whined, crossing her arms half-slumped over. “Even if I ask him all nice, or try to smooch my way out, he doesn't budge!”</p>
<p>She motioned the sisters to follow her out in the hall, where her woven basket sat on the side of the wall. Soon picking it up, Persephone began to walk down the stairs—with much more composure than either of them really thought she’d have while being this tipsy. “But now, Kitten’s lookin through another person to throw into this hell hole, right? Then that just means I finally have time to do my own stuff with those poor worker bees!” </p>
<p>“Your own stuff?!” Liz quickly shuffled down the stairs before the others reached the first floor. “What do you mean by that?”</p>
<p>Yuri giggled and pulled Patty down the stairs with her, soon linking her other arm with Liz. “You’ll see when we get there!” She hummed as she led the sisters out of the mansion and back to the outskirts of the city. Patty glanced at her nervous sister, trying to give her a look of reassurance; this was certainly new, but it might be a good thing to see! </p>
<p>Once they arrived at the wall, several workers finally lifted their heads ever so slightly, so they could see their queen. She plopped her back on the ground before reaching deep into it, gradually pulling up some sort of massive wooden plank; it dropped to the ground, suddenly unfolding itself into a small platform with a bar countertop and various shelves soon appearing too. On those shelves stood various jars and bottles, all clear… for now. Persephone tapped one of the workers on the shoulder, beckoning them to her with a sweet mocking of her husband. </p>
<p>
  <em><a id="return12-2" name="return12-2"></a> “Step into my office~”<sup>[<a href="#note12-2">2</a>]</sup> </em>
</p>
<p>	With a light chuckle, she spun on her heel as the miners and builders sauntered to her small stage of a tavern. The queen placed her bag on the platform’s floor, reaching in one more time for a large, old-school microphone; she hopped back onto the dirt ground and glanced to the two blondes watching the whole spectacle. While Liz slowly curled her lips up into a smirk, Patty already held a mischievous grin, lightly clapping her hands in excitement. Perse, you absolute rebel!! The microphone tilted on its circular base in whatever direction the goddess swung to, getting a good eye on her audience.</p>
<p>
  <em>“I don't know about you, boys!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But if you're like me,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Then hanging around </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>This old manhole</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Is bringing you down!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Six-feet-under</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Getting under your skin,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Cabin fever is a-setting in…”</em>
</p>
<p>	She leaned in to see more of their faces, who naturally leaned back as they caught the playfully tempting look written all over her face. The workers stepped back further as she suddenly bellowed, </p>
<p>
  <em>“You're stir crazy!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Stuck in a rut!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>You could use a little pick-me-up!”</em>
</p>
<p>With her shoulders shifting side to side, she tapped one of the workers on the nose before gliding back into her little bar-stage. </p>
<p>
  <em>“I can give you what it is you crave,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>A little something from the good old days!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I got the wind right here in a jar;”</em>
</p>
<p>On command, the small mason container received a small, white swirl of gusty air; the crowd ooo-ed and aaah-ed as Perse brought out a long-necked bottle somehow filling itself up with rain drops. </p>
<p>
  <em>“I got the rain on tap at the bar;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I got sunshine up on the shelf;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Allow me to introduce myself!”</em>
</p>
<p>As sunlight glowed in one of the jars on the highest shelf, Yuri gave a curtsy with her gown and looked to the workers, secretly pleading they still recognized her. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Brother, what's my name?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>My name is-”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Our Lady of the Underground!”</em>
</p>
<p>	The crowd (excluding Liz and Patty) soon uproared in a confident answer… the one the very Lady should’ve probably expected to receive. She repeated the question, but they only showered her in worship. Not really the kind of connection she’s yearning for, folks. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Brother, what's my name?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Our Lady of Ways!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Our Lady of Means!”</em>
</p>
<p>	Though internally her confidence dropped ever so slightly, Yuri continued to bounce her shoulders to the rhythm. She asked the question one more time. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Brother, what's my name?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>My name is—”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Our Lady of the Upside Down!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Wanna know my name?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I'll tell you my name-</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Persephone!”</em>
</p>
<p>A sly wink, and the audience soon hooted and hollered as their queen pulled out a small flask from her bag, motioning to the blonde sisters to start grabbing as many cups as they could find. Patty hopped to the shelves and picked up stacks by the armful, while her older sister cautiously took them out of her hands to give to the first worker she saw. </p>
<p>“Pass the glasses down,” she requested, and they followed with no complaints. Liz repeated the process with every section or so of the circle surrounding them, continuously looking back at Persephone as she passed out glasses and filled them up with some sort of liquor soon after. To pour wine above was a celebration of her return, of arable conditions; now, it was more like some scandal enacted out of spite—which was quite understandable considering recent events. </p>
<p>The Queen took notice of one of the miners looking directly into her eyes, pleading for something specific to aid their suffering—though she couldn’t tell exactly what. She wrapped an arm around his shoulder, slightly yanking them down to her tiny stature. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Come here, brother- let me guess:</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It's the little things you miss?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Spring flowers,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Autumn leaves;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Ask me, brother, and you shall receive!”</em>
</p>
<p>From her left and right hands, flowers and leaves all of various colors sprung from her hands, thrown into the air like confetti. Much of the crowd audibly reacted in awe, reaching to collect even one of the small plants—but they still yearned for something more. Persephone placed a finger to her chin. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Or maybe these just ain't enough,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Maybe you're looking for some stronger stuff!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I got a sight for the sorest eye…”</em>
</p>
<p>Yuri’s voice shifted into a softer, slightly pained tone. She looked dead into the crowd, shooting right to what she knew they wanted most.</p>
<p>
  <em>“When was the last time you saw the sky?”</em>
</p>
<p>One of the workers’ eyes began to gleam, a small hiccup and their shoulders trembled. The queen quickly cupped the poor miner’s face into her hands, thumbs lightly petting under their eyes. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Wipe away your tears, brother,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Brother, I know how you feel.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I can see you're blinded by the sadness of it all…”</em>
</p>
<p>In the corner of her eye, Persephone noticed a faint ripple in the wall’s smooth texture—much like the ripples formed from cracked porcelain bowls, or the small first cracks in an egg. </p>
<p>
  <em>“But look a little closer, and</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Everything will be revealed.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Look a little closer, and…”</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>A long pause was accompanied by a crescendoed humming, before she turned back framing one of her eyes between her fingers, triumphantly shouting, </p>
<p>
  <em>“There's a crack in the wall!”</em>
</p>
<p>Though, the various miners and workers didn’t take too well to such a declaration. They tensed up, hesitant to rush back and fix it, or finally have some time to themselves. </p>
<p>A sudden pang went through Liz’s chest; sure, they probably had to go back to work soon… but to keep taking orders from a man gone insane? Ridiculous, really. She frantically looked around for a distraction as her sister noticed something else in the bag. Patty scavenged through, eventually pulling out a large jar full of small, gold coins. Liz saw the jar, and immediately grinned at her sister; that’s all it took to get Patty on board with the plan. </p>
<p>“Hey!! Do y’all really want to fix that crack now? Get back to the cycle that’s slowly sucking the life out of ya?” The younger blonde hopped onto the top of the counter, arms crossed and full of confidence. “Hell no! Of course not!”</p>
<p>Liz took the jar out of Patty’s hands, setting it beside her. “He’s been working you like slaves without so much as a thank you! Well, if he cares so much about a little crack, have him fix it himself! Hand him back your pay as a big ol’ middle finger!” She chuckled with a dark undertone, much more devilish than before. </p>
<p>Persephone blinked in surprise, but didn’t appear opposed to the idea. It made sense—that’s already what she did with those coins anyways. Let the chains loose, even for a moment. Although, these poor shades wouldn’t sway so easily to the suggestion just with the thought of payback; they needed more, something to truly pull them further out of their fear of the King. Something they all desired that he’d taken away for far too long. Yuri slipped behind the counter and grabbed another jar that began to glow brightly. The shining container signaled to the sisters that they were going to play a game of win-win trades with these shades. Patty hopped down back to the crowd with the jar in hand, as Persephone stepped up on the table and opened her own lid. </p>
<p>
  <em>“You want stars? I got a skyfull!”</em>
</p>
<p>	Starlight scattered across the crowd, desperate hands reaching up to catch whatever amount they could. Patty stretched out her arms to offer the jar and it’s own little sliver of a perfect, coin-sized opening. With a wink, she joined in the singing. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Put a quarter in the slot, you'll get an eyeful!”</em>
</p>
<p>Liz reached in the bag, pulling out a small <a id="return12-3" name="return12-3"></a>stereopticon<sup>[<a href="#note12-3">3</a>]</sup> and a slide featuring various pictures of the moon, and the young woman who represented it. She slid to the other side of the crowd, offering little previews of the slides and the device but never letting the workers nab the items themselves. </p>
<p>
  <em>“You want the moon?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Yeah, I got her too!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>She's right here waiting in my <a id="return12-4" name="return12-4"></a>pay-per-view~”<sup>[<a href="#note12-4">4</a>]</sup></em>
</p>
<p>	The two sisters glanced at each other over the shoulder, Patty grinning mischievously and Liz smirking at themselves right back. </p>
<p>
  <em>“How long's it been?”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“A little moonshine ain't no sin~”</em>
</p>
<p>	Our Lady waved off one of the miners in reassurance as she strode to the two blondes. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Tell my husband to take his time!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“What the boss don’t know,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The boss won't mind~”</em>
</p>
<p>Thus, a small speakeasy of sorts unraveled, Liz and Patty taking care of everyone making their fair payback and not hogging too much of the goods, Yuri handing out jars to smell crisp autumn winds, sweet flowers, and to taste rainwater and wine collected from above. Who knows how long the small party lasted, or how long it would continue if a newcomer stumbled onto the scene. </p>
<p>“Persephone!”</p>
<p>Now there’s a voice that struck familiar, concerned chords. Every head whipped around to see a young girl in messy pigtails, ripped up tights, and a red bandanna running to the small stage bar. Her hands slammed on the counter as she skidded to a halt, panting. Liz quickly walked around on the other side, patting the girl’s back and trying to look in her green eyes. “Woah, Maka…you ok?” </p>
<p>“Yeah! I’m fine—I just—need a minute.” Maka reassured in between pants, taking in a massive gulp of air before standing up straight. The first two people she noticed were Patty, who looked at her sister with pursed lips, and of course, Persephone. But the goddess wore wide eyes, her lips quivering to say something. </p>
<p>“No. No no no no.” Yuri reached for Maka’s hands, one of her own covering her mouth. “Don’t tell me that you—“</p>
<p>“Took the train? Died while up above?” Maka gave two predictions for what she’d ask, squeezing the Queen’s hands tightly for comfort. “No, I promise, my heart is definitely beating! See?” She placed Perse’s hands over her chest, and sure enough, a heartbeat pounded against her rib cage.</p>
<p>“How—how did you even get down here?”</p>
<p>“I walked here.”</p>
<p>“You walked here?”</p>
<p>“From the back tunnel?!” Patty leaned in, eyebrows raised almost off her forehead. “That—that’s not an easy route to get through!”</p>
<p>Maka dryly laughed. “Now I know why.” </p>
<p>Liz scanned the ground, scouring her own mind for who would even—wait no. That was obvious. “Hermes told you the route, didn’t he?” </p>
<p>“Yeah, he did.” The answer lacked any drips of guilt. </p>
<p>“Why?”</p>
<p>“I came down here to look for Soul. When I came back home, he wasn’t there, and there was just a note saying how he had a plan to come down here and…” the poet trailed off, looking first at the shelves of different elements, then all of the silhouettes in hard hats and overalls; she noted how they stared back at her solemnly much like the seas of faces in the streets. Maka’s eyes scanned the crowd until she saw the large jar that was now halfway full of golden coins. The dots connected, and her heart quivered. Persephone wouldn’t charge her own people for her powers and let the surface go scot-free, right? Asking nothing in return except to live and learn to live together, right?</p>
<p>“That’s what he meant by his own plan!” Patty interrupted whatever everyone was thinking, quickly shutting her mouth as Persephone looked to the sisters with her heart sinking further and further. </p>
<p>“Soul… he came down here, and you saw him? Without mentioning any of that to me?” He couldn’t have gotten baited. He couldn’t have broken poor Maka’s heart like that! Did he become that desperate that quickly? Was it because she left too early? Questions snowballed in her mind as she held her arms, barely able to keep looking at one more person she was hurting; cerulean eyes kept staring at the hand-woven bag below the sun table. </p>
<p>Liz winced, her shoulders helplessly dropping. “We know just as much as you do about why and how—which is practically nothing. He just found his way into the center and said going with Kid’s plan would help his own plan…” she stopped talking, seeing a small, black figure walking ahead in the streets in the corner of her eye. She tapped her sister on the shoulder and made a circular motion with two of her fingers. Patty glanced to what Liz saw, and immediately nodded. </p>
<p>Maka was oblivious to the sisters’ plans, still staring at the large glass jar. “What’s that doing here?” </p>
<p>Persephone followed the girl’s gaze to the jar, her own heart stopping for a split second as an acidic feeling poured itself into her chest. “Well… it’s a jar.”</p>
<p>“Persephone, I’m serious. What is that doing there? Why are you charging—” The poet’s voice continued to grow louder until Patty slapped her hand over Maka’s mouth. Maka tried to pull away from Patty’s strong grasp, but the sister made a “ssh!” sound. </p>
<p>Liz quickly slammed the small tavern-set with her fist and watched it fold itself back into a wooden plank before shoving it back into Persephone’s bag. She handed the bag to the startled goddess and glanced back at her sister and the confused girl in her arms.</p>
<p>“Hades is on his way back, and him seeing you or this will <em>not</em> end well. Maka, you go with Perse to find Soul; Patty and I’ll keep things busy here.”</p>
<p>Maka nodded as her legs began to start running all on their own (with the help of a push from Patty). Persephone followed close behind as the crowd of workers separated from their sea of silhouettes back to their work positions. Behind were the loud, much more rugged voices of Liz and Patty as they shouted at the miners to get back to mining as though they were drill sergeants.</p>
<p>“Alright! That’s a wrap! Now we gotta get back to it!”</p>
<p>“Get a move on, ya slugheads!”</p>
<p>Persephone and Maka ran together into the middle of the city, further west from where Kid would eventually arrive to the hollering sisters. Their running eventually slowed to a steady walk, and Maka soon stopping all together to lean on the side of one of the tightly squished-together buildings. The queen walked over to the girl’s side, opening up her back and digging around for a glass bottle of rainwater. “Here.” Persephone offered the bottle with a sweet smile, but Maka only stared at the bottle, and then the goddess.</p>
<p>“Am I going to have to pay for a sip of it too? Should I wait for you to pull out that coin jar?” She bitterly asked.</p>
<p>Yuri stepped back before looking down at the bottle and mentally kicking herself. How stupid to act like nothing was seen or realized. “N-no, you don’t have to pay for it, that’s only—”</p>
<p>“Only something you do with your own kingdom? Your own people? Why?!” Maka shouted, arms thrown up.</p>
<p>“Because that’s the only way I can get them to trust me!” Persephone said in defense. “The city is utterly terrified of Hades, and as such, they’re terrified of me too. I’ve tried to say hello, to give them flowers and sunlight and all of the things I know they miss so, so much… but they only turn away, or stare at me in horror. They don’t know whether to accept the gift or not because they’re so afraid of him finding out.” Yuri clutched her bag tightly to her chest. “I can’t… I can’t stand to see them all so paranoid, and tired, and unhappy. The ‘pay’ Hades gives them can’t even be used because they’re never allowed to go home, or shop, or do anything else they desire… so I thought, why not let them use that money for something that could help them feel alive again?”</p>
<p>“That’s why you have them pay money?”</p>
<p>“N-no, no! I really don’t sell them anything. Whatever people want, I give them in exchange for just one coin as a symbol of exchanging trust. Proof that they don’t have to be afraid of me, y’know? Get rid of the symbol of this hell in exchange for a tangible memory.” Persephone laughed in a way where she might burst into tears any moment.</p>
<p>Maka crossed her arms, guilty for asking a painful question and frustrated the queen’s name suddenly became much more gray. “That still doesn’t make it right that you ask them for something in return, while you simply give the surface everything and never ask for anything back.”</p>
<p>Yuri’s heart plummeted to the ground. “I… you’re right. That is hypocritical of me. I guess because I know money is so short and you all willingly celebrate my arrival, I feel like that trust is already there.” </p>
<p>“We do trust you, but pulling this sort of thing could make people on the surface lose that trust in you. Because now… now it seems like you really value life more than death. That once people reach the afterlife they’re demoted to slaves or something.” Maka’s palms stayed open but tension throbbed within her fingers as she struggled to accurately voice her emotions. </p>
<p>“Would you believe me if I told you they weren’t always ‘treated like slaves’ as you put it?” Persephone smiled sadly as Maka turned her head with a bewildered expression. “The dead have been mining here underground for a long time, but it was treated much like mining jobs that used to take place on the surface. A set work time, but you could take breaks and rest as shifts change throughout the day. The only real people that were forced to work as punishment were those who we judged their evil actions outweighed the good.”</p>
<p>Maka nodded as she processed this information. “I guess that makes sense. Paying your dues in death or something like that. When did he stop giving sensible work hours?”</p>
<p>“Oh gosh, years and years ago. I’m certain it picked up whenever I was above in the Spring and Summer. I arrived back and would notice more and more people out working and mining each time, but I figured it was because our total population increased and we had to hold larger groups for each shift.” The queen laughed at herself for such naivety. “Things only started to connect to a problem the more I realized how each soul was practically drained of their individuality; the only real bustle within the actual city came from crowds pushing through each other to move to the next location; that’s really only easily heard up close, so most of the time I really couldn’t hear anything except that droning of pickaxes and rocks moving around; what I thought was gathering bricks for more buildings in the city became a wall of all things; and Kid—I mean Hades…” Yuri looked back at the mansion in the middle. “He didn’t look at me the same way anymore. The same way at anyone, really. The eyes that were once full of warmth and compassion are now cold. Calculating. Looking at everything and everyone like dirt.” </p>
<p>Maka grimaced, knowing that look and the fallout of love all too well. Her own parents went through it after all. Persephone was too kind to even go through something so complicated and emotionally draining. Green eyes widened in realization. For the first time in awhile, Maka thought about her own parents. How their relationship slowly crumbled as Mama spent more time away at work; Papa spent more time with other people; they could hardly communicate anything without it turning into an argument, so for a while neither of them would speak to each other. It pained her to bring up this idea… but that was all she could think of as advice. </p>
<p>“Why don’t you just leave him?”</p>
<p>Persephone blinked, turning to the pigtailed girl. “What?”</p>
<p>“Leave Hades, and his stupid city! Don’t let him keep you trapped down here for months on end and make you feel utterly miserable. If he tries to look for you, just firmly say no, and cut him and his ego down into little pieces!! Then you can finally have freedom, right?”</p>
<p>The petite goddess sadly smiled, and then began to laugh. A laugh of soft melancholy, not really towards Maka, or herself, or anyone… really just at the word “freedom.” Is that even what she wanted? Her laughter died down as she shook her head, a breeze of harmonies blowing past the two from… somewhere. <a id="return12-5" name="return12-5"></a> Persephone began to softly sing once more.<sup>[<a href="#note12-5">5</a>]</sup></p>
<p>
  <em>“</em>
</p>
<p>Freedom is a fickle thing when other people need you. </p>
<p>
  <em>They bargain and they plead you</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>To lend a helping hand.”</em>
</p>
<p>	As she sang, the goddess gripped the dirt and gravel under her in her hands, holding a handful until it trickled out of her fingers. For a few moments, Maka saw a small, heartbroken smile across her face before it wilted into uncertain distraught. </p>
<p>
  <em>“Freedom is a fickle thing when you got obligations</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>To all people and creations,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And you can’t help but to care...</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em></em>
  </strong>
  <em>And you care, and you care, </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>About everyone and everything;</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Especially you care for him</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And can't help but to worry.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And you worry, and you worry, </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>about the way he feels for you,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And how you two will make it through</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The hell you're in.”</em>
</p>
<p>	Persephone began to walk further into the city, motioning Maka to follow. She continued to sing her melancholic melody, a bright silhouette against the nauseating neon attempting to engulf them. One of her hands held the strap of her bag tightly, the other swaying as she sang. </p>
<p>
  <em>“A promise is a funny thing when you help everyone ‘round; </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>All the souls above and underground </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Need something that you have. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>A promise is a funny thing to commit to everyone: </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>They ask you for the moon and sun </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And there's always more to give...  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And you give and you give </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>to try to help them feel something </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Remembering the grass and wind </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>From your life before.” </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Remember please remember, </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>what you’re meant to do</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>How you can help improve</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>The hell you’re in.”</em>
</p>
<p>Maka felt Persephone hold one of her hands, squeezing it tightly. The queen of the underworld finished her song, but continued to hum and scat softly as she led the young poet through the hellish city of Hadestown to find her Soul. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p><a id="note12-1" name="note12-1">1</a> Not only does Yuri’s name mean “lily” in Japanese, but lilies are also commonly associated with funerals. <sup>[<a href="#return12-1">return to text</a>]</sup></p>
<p><a id="note12-2" name="note12-2">2</a> The actual start to act 2 in the show, but it's too much of a banger to not add here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vasNenR_DL0&amp;list=PLcZhIiPR2E4UFVQ1tSFDpiPpd1V0v277M&amp;index=22&amp;t=0s <sup>[<a href="#return12-2">return to text</a>]</sup></p>
<p><a id="note12-3" name="note12-3">3</a> A device that debuted in the late 1900s: https://deplorablemesite.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/stereopticon.jpg?w=336&amp;h=232 <sup>[<a href="#return12-3">return to text</a>]</sup></p>
<p><a id="note12-4" name="note12-4">4</a>  FAIRY BLUE KIMI NI—Paper Moon joke aside, the moon goddess I’m referring to is Artemis (though Selene could fit too!) <sup>[<a href="#return12-4">return to text</a>]</sup></p>
<p><a id="note12-5" name="note12-5">5</a> The wonderful Amanda (sojustifiable/uhmanduh) just… went ahead and wrote an entire song for my flower daughter and I don’t think words can describe my love for the work or her!!! https://soundcloud.com/uhman-duh/fickle-thing-for-persephone <sup>[<a href="#return12-5">return to text</a>]</sup></p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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